For a study, the researchers sought to determine if chosen bifidobacteria isolated from four breastfed infants could catabolize and ferment caprine milk oligosaccharides (CMO). The researchers looked at 17 bifidobacterial isolates from three different species (Bifidobacterium breve, Bifidobacterium longum subsp. longum, and Bifidobacterium bifidum). As a sole supply of fermentable carbohydrate, a CMO-enriched fraction (CMOF) from caprine cheese whey (50% oligosaccharides, 10% galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS), 20% lactose, 10% glucose, and 10% galactose) was given to a growth medium. Comparable to glucose, lactose, GOS, inulin, oligofructose, 3′-sialyl-lactose, and 6′-sialyl-lactose, including the CMOF, resulted in higher bifidobacterial proliferation for all strains. Only one B. bifidum strain (AGR2166) used the carbohydrate sources sialyl-CMO, 3′-sialyl-lactose, and 6′-sialyl-lactose. Comparable to other fermentable substrates, CMOF boosted the production of acetic and lactic acid (P<0.001) after 36 hours of anaerobic fermentation at 37°C. Two B. bifidum strains (AGR2166 and AGR2168) used CMO from the CMOF to a larger extent than B. breve or B. longum subsp longum isolates, and this higher CMO use was linked to higher sialidase activity. Comparable to other fermentable carbohydrates studied, CMOF enhanced bifidobacterial growth and boosted the consumption of mono and disaccharides found in CMOF, such as galactose and lactose. The findings suggest that eating CMO stimulates the growth and metabolism of intestinal Bifidobacteria spp., including Bifidobacterium bifidum, which is commonly found in the large intestine of breast-fed newborns.
Link:www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19490976.2015.1105425
