Abstract
Human milk is rich in oligosaccharides that influence intestinal development and serve as prebiotics for the infant gut microbiota. Probiotics and 2’-fucosyllactose (2’-FL) added individually to infant formula have been shown to influence infant development, but less is known about the effects of their synbiotic administration. Herein, the impact of formula supplementation with 2’-fucosyllactose (2’-FL) and Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis Bi-26 (Bi-26), or 2’-FL + Bi-26 on weight gain, organ weights, and intestinal development in piglets was investigated. Two-day-old piglets (n = 53) were randomized in a 2 × 2 design to be fed a commercial milk replacer ad libitum without (CON) or with 1.0 g/L 2’-FL. Piglets in each diet were further randomized to receive either glycerol stock alone or Bi-26 (109 CFU) orally once daily. Body weights and food intake were monitored from postnatal day (PND) 2 to 33/34. On PND 34/35, animals were euthanized and intestine, liver and brain weights were assessed. Intestinal samples were collected for morphological analyses and measurement of disaccharidase activity. Dry matter of cecum and colon contents and Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis abundance by RT-PCR were also measured. All diets were well tolerated, and formula intake did not differ among the treatment groups. Daily body weights were affected by 2’-FL, Bi-26, and day, but no interaction was observed. There was a trend (p = 0.075) for greater total body weight gain in CON versus all other groups. Jejunal and ascending colon histomorphology were unaffected by treatment; however, there were main effects of 2’-FL to increase (p = 0.040) and Bi-26 to decrease (p = 0.001) ileal crypt depth. The addition of 2’-FL and/or Bi-26 to milk replacer supported piglet growth with no detrimental effects on body and organ weights, or intestinal structure and function.
Highlights
The postnatal period is a critical time for gastrointestinal and immune development, which are stimulated by bioactive components in human milk (HM) and the gut microbiota [1]
There was no significant treatment differences in any of the assessed behavioral or general demeanor outcomes and piglets in all groups demonstrated a typical pattern of body weight gain for artificially reared animals in the Piglet Nutrition and Cognition Laboratory (PNCL) facility [26]
They serve as a relevant preclinical model to study prebiotics and probiotics and have been used extensively by our group [38,39,40] and others [41,42] to investigate the biological effects of individual human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) and B. infantis [43]
Summary
The postnatal period is a critical time for gastrointestinal and immune development, which are stimulated by bioactive components in human milk (HM) and the gut microbiota [1]. The bioactive components in HM include among others the prebiotic human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) [2,3] and the milk microbiota [4]. The HMOs are the third most abundant solid component of HM after lipid and lactose, but their concentrations are influenced by maternal genetics, stage of lactation, seasonality and geographic location [5]. 2’-fucosyllactose (2’-FL), a neutral 2-linked fucosylated oligosaccharide [4], is one of the predominant HMO, but its synthesis is influenced by maternal secretor status [5]. HMOs resist gastrointestinal digestion [6,7], allowing intact HMO to influence various aspects of infant development. HMOs are metabolized by the microbiota, and some species of Bifidobacterium and Bacteroides utilize HMOs as their primary energy source [11]
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