Abstract
Complementary feeding transitions infants from a milk-based diet to solid foods, providing essential nutrients to the infant and the developing gut microbiome while influencing immune development. Some of the earliest microbial colonisers readily ferment select oligosaccharides, influencing the ongoing establishment of the microbiome. Non-digestible oligosaccharides in prebiotic-supplemented formula and human milk oligosaccharides promote commensal immune-modulating bacteria such as Bifidobacterium, which decrease in abundance during weaning. Incorporating complex, bifidogenic, non-digestible carbohydrates during the transition to solid foods may present an opportunity to feed commensal bacteria and promote balanced concentrations of beneficial short chain fatty acid concentrations and vitamins that support gut barrier maturation and immunity throughout the complementary feeding window.
Highlights
The strategic introduction of prebiotic compounds during weaning presents an opportunity to promote infant health and to support development via balanced co-maturation of the gut microbiome and host
Breastmilk and some types of prebiotic-supplemented formulas provide non-digestible oligosaccharides (NDOs) to the gut microbiome, which exert a strong influence on the microbial composition and metabolism [43]
This review summarises the current body of knowledge on the complementary feeding of prebiotic starches for the microbiome with a focus on the interactions of commensal species, microbial metabolites, and the development of the gut barrier and immune system
Summary
The strategic introduction of prebiotic compounds during weaning presents an opportunity to promote infant health and to support development via balanced co-maturation of the gut microbiome and host. Breastmilk and some types of prebiotic-supplemented formulas provide non-digestible oligosaccharides (NDOs) to the gut microbiome, which exert a strong influence on the microbial composition and metabolism [43]. The introduction of starchy foods such as cereals, porridges, and pureed tubers is common practice due to the neutral tastes, smooth textures, and ease of swallowing as oral coordination develops [44] The role of these starches in the community dynamics of the immature and unstable infant microbiome remains unknown. Starches promote populations of bacteria of which some strains directly interact with immunomodulatory factors in the gut mucosa [46] These and other commensal bacteria ferment starches into metabolites such as SCFAs and vitamins, which have known benefits to gut barrier integrity, immune-regulation, and immune response [47]. This review summarises the current body of knowledge on the complementary feeding of prebiotic starches for the microbiome with a focus on the interactions of commensal species, microbial metabolites, and the development of the gut barrier and immune system
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