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Long Term Probiotic Found in Baby's Gut

by Anjanee Sharma on Mar 25 2021 6:23 PM

Study finds that probiotics live for one year in the baby's gut.

Long Term Probiotic Found in Baby`s Gut
Probiotics are bacteria that are good for the digestive tract, and are short-lived - rarely taking residence or colonizing the gut.
However, researchers have found that the probiotic B. infantis will persist in a breast-milk fed baby’s gut for up to one year and plaCs a vital role in a healthy digestive system.

Jennifer Smilowitz, lead author, said, "The same group had shown in a previous study that giving breast milk-fed babies B. infantis had beneficial effects that lasted up to 30 days after supplementation, but this is the first study to show persistent colonization up to 1 year of age."

B. infantis is a gut microbe that aids the digestion of complex sugars (oligosaccharides) found in human breast milk. It was once found abundantly in breastfed babies but has now disappeared greatly in infants due to factors like increased antibiotic use, formula feeding and cesarean sections.

"B. infantis is like the gatekeeper of the infant gut, it eats these complex sugars and creates an undesirable environment for potential pathogens," Smilowitz adds.

She explains that a lack of the bacterium has been known to increase risk of inflammatory diseases like asthma, allergies and autoimmune diseases. Previous studies have shown that B. infantis colonization in the baby’s gut reduces intestinal inflammation.

Smilowitz and her team supplemented babies with B. infantis from 7 to 28 days after birth. Findings revealed persistent colonization for up to 30 days after supplementation. In a follow-up study, fecal samples were taken from the same babies at 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 months of age. Surprisingly, the probiotic still persisted for so long as they are short-lived, and 12-month-old infants usually start eating solid foods, which affect the gut microbiome.

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Source-Medindia


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