Effects of nutrition package on intestinal flora of infants by high-throughput sequencing

Abstract

To investigate the effect of nutrition package on intestinal flora of infants aged 6-24 months. A total of 118 infants in Songxian County and Ruyang County of Henan Province, 60 infants in Songxian County with nutrition package coverage, and 58 infants in Ruyang County of the control county were selected for the long-term effects of early childhood nutrition package intervention project in 2018. All infant faeces were collected, and the composition and abundance of intestinal flora were analyzed and compared by high-throughput sequencing technology. The Alpha diversity of intestinal flora in the nutrition package intervention group was significantly higher than that in the control group. Firmicutes were on the rise in the nutrition package intervention group of infants aged 6-24 months. The abundance of Prevotella in the intervention group was significantly lower than that in the control group. The abundance of Faecalibacterium and Bacteroides in the nutrition package treatment group for infants aged 12 to 17 months was significantly higher than that of the control group, while the abundance of Bifidobacterium and Prevotella was significantly lower than that of the control group. Lactobacillus was significantly less abundant in the 18-24 month old infant nutrition package intervention group than in the control group. Nutrition package can improve the diversity of intestinal flora, also play an important role in promoting the balance of intestinal flora of infants.