Study on supplementary food with beneficial effects on the gut microbiota of infants

Abstract

The gut microbiota of infants is constantly changing, and the addition of supplementary food is the turning point of the change of gut microbiota. Currently, supplementary infant foods appear not to be based on knowledge of the developmental biology of how they affect the gut microbiota. In this study, pH, the content of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), and the microbial community of oat, corn, millet, and supplementary foods were recorded after fermentation for 24 h, respectively. The results revealed that oat, corn, and millet had a better beneficial effect on infant gut microbiota than oligosaccharides. Therefore, we designed three groups of ready-to-use supplementary food, namely RUSF-1, RUSF-2, and RUSF-3, with oat, corn, and millet as the main raw materials. Compared with the oligosaccharide control group, there were no significant differences in pH, acetate content, and total SCFA content. However, the propionate and butyrate contents in the group RUSF-1 and RUSF-2 were significantly increased (P < 0.05). The highest content of propionate and butyrate was obtained by group RUSF-2, in which the content of propionate was 1.82 times, and the content of butyrate was 1.9 times that in-group OCG. Microbial community analysis showed that the relative abundance of Lactobacillus in the group RUSF-1 and the relative abundance of Akkermansia in group RUSF-2 and RUSF-3 were significantly increased compared to the control group. In conclusion, these results suggest that RUSF-2 is an excellent supplementary food beneficial to infant gut microbiota. In all, our study provides new ideas and a theoretical basis for the development of infant supplementary food.