In vitro fermentation of human milk oligosaccharides by ascending colonic microbiota from formula‐fed and sow‐reared piglets

Abstract

The objective was to compare the in vitro fermentation characteristics of oligosaccharides isolated from human milk (HMO), lacto‐N‐neotetraose (LNnT), a predominant HMO, and three commonly used prebiotics: a 1:2 mixture of galactooligosaccharide (GOS) and polydextrose (PDX), and short‐chain fructooligosaccharides (scFOS). Ascending colonic contents were obtained from four donor groups: 9 and 17 day‐old formula‐fed (FF9, FF17) and sow‐reared (SR9, SR17) piglets. pH change, gas, short chain fatty acid (SCFA) and lactate production were determined following 0, 2, 4, 8, and 12 h of incubation. The pH change and total SCFA, acetate, and propionate production were greater in the FF than SR groups, and in the 9‐ compared to the 17‐day‐old piglets, regardless of diet. However, SR groups produced higher amounts of butyrate and lactate than FF groups. For most donors, the pH change was greatest for scFOS, and least for GOS/PDX. The fermentation of LNnT produced larger amounts of gas, total SCFA, acetate, and butyrate than did the other substrates, whereas higher amounts of propionate and lactate were observed from HMO and scFOS fermentation respectively. In summary, gut bacterial fermentation patterns varied by diet and age of piglets. HMO and LNnT have potential prebiotic effects due in part to their high SCFA production capacity (Supported by R01 HD061929).