Postbiotics are functional bioactive compounds, generated in a matrix during fermentation, which may be used to promote health. The term postbiotics can be regarded as an umbrella term for all ...synonyms and related terms of these microbial fermentation components. Therefore, postbiotics can include many different constituents including metabolites, short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), microbial cell fractions, functional proteins, extracellular polysaccharides (EPS), cell lysates, teichoic acid, peptidoglycan-derived muropeptides and pili-type structures. Postbiotics is also a rather new term in the '-biotics' field. Where consensus exists for the definitions of pre- and probiotics, this is not yet the case for postbiotics. Here we propose a working definition and review currently known postbiotic compounds, their proposed mechanisms, clinical evidence and potential applications. Research to date indicates that postbiotics can have direct immunomodulatory and clinically relevant effects and evidence can be found for the use of postbiotics in healthy individuals to improve overall health and to relief symptoms in a range of diseases such as infant colic and in adults atopic dermatitis and different causes of diarrhea.
Development of the gut microbiota in infancy is important in maturation of the immune system. Deviations in colonization patterns have been associated with allergic manifestations such as eczema, but ...exact microbiome dysfunctions underlying allergies remain unclear. We studied the gut microbiota of 138 infants at increased risk of allergy, participating in a clinical trial investigating the effectiveness of a partially hydrolyzed protein formula supplemented with nondigestible oligosaccharides on the prevention of eczema.
The effects of interventions and breast-feeding on fecal microbiota were investigated. Additionally, we aimed to identify microbial patterns associated with the onset of eczema.
Bacterial taxonomic compositions in the first 26 weeks of life were analyzed by using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Additionally, fecal pH and microbial metabolite levels were measured.
Fecal microbial composition, metabolites, and pH of infants receiving partially hydrolyzed protein formula supplemented with nondigestible oligosaccharides was closer to that of breast-fed infants than that of infants receiving standard cow's milk formula. Infants with eczema by 18 months showed discordant development of bacterial genera of Enterobacteriaceae and Parabacteroides species in the first 26 weeks, as well as decreased acquisition of lactate-utilizing bacteria producing butyrate, namely Eubacterium and Anaerostipes species, supported by increased lactate and decreased butyrate levels.
We showed that a partially hydrolyzed protein infant formula with specific prebiotics modulated the gut microbiota closer to that of breast-fed infants. Additionally, we identified a potential link between microbial activity and onset of eczema, which might reflect a suboptimal implementation of gut microbiota at specific developmental stages in infants at high risk for allergy.
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The development of the intestinal microbiota in the first years of life is a dynamic process significantly influenced by early‐life nutrition. Pioneer bacteria colonizing the infant intestinal tract ...and the gradual diversification to a stable climax ecosystem plays a crucial role in establishing host–microbe interactions essential for optimal symbiosis. This colonization process and establishment of symbiosis may profoundly influence health throughout life. Recent developments in microbiologic cultivation‐independent methods allow a detailed view of the key players and factors involved in this process and may further elucidate their roles in a healthy gut and immune maturation. Aberrant patterns may lead to identifying key microbial signatures involved in developing immunologic diseases into adulthood, such as asthma and atopic diseases. The central role of early‐life nutrition in the developmental human microbiota, immunity, and metabolism offers promising strategies for prevention and treatment of such diseases. This review provides an overview of the development of the intestinal microbiota, its bidirectional relationship with the immune system, and its role in impacting health and disease, with emphasis on allergy, in early life.
Colonization of the infant gut is believed to be critically important for a healthy growth as it influences gut maturation, metabolic, immune and brain development in early life. Understanding ...factors that influence this process is important, since an altered colonization has been associated with a higher risk of diseases later in life. Fecal samples were collected from 108 healthy neonates in the first half year of life. The composition and functionality of the microbiota was characterized by measuring 33 different bacterial taxa by qPCR/RT qPCR, and 8 bacterial metabolites. Information regarding gender, place and mode of birth, presence of siblings or pets; feeding pattern and antibiotic use was collected by using questionnaires. Regression analysis techniques were used to study associations between microbiota parameters and confounding factors over time. Bacterial DNA was detected in most meconium samples, suggesting bacterial exposure occurs in utero. After birth, colonization by species of Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus and Bacteroides was influenced by mode of delivery, type of feeding and presence of siblings, with differences found at species level and over time. Interestingly, infant-type bifidobacterial species such as B. breve or B. longum subsp infantis were confirmed as early colonizers apparently independent of the factors studied here, while B. animalis subsp. lactis presence was found to be dependent solely on the type of feeding, indicating that it might not be a common infant gut inhabitant. One interesting and rather unexpected confounding factor was gender. This study contributes to our understanding of the composition of the microbiota in early life and the succession process and the evolution of the microbial community as a function of time and events occurring during the first 6 months of life. Our results provide new insights that could be taken into consideration when selecting nutritional supplementation strategies to support the developing infant gut microbiome.
The developing intestinal microbiota of breast-fed infants is considered to play an important role in the priming of the infants' mucosal and systemic immunity. Generally, Bifidobacterium and ...Lactobacillus predominate the microbiota of breast-fed infants. In intervention trials it has been shown that lactobacilli can exert beneficial effects on, for example, diarrhea and atopy. However, the Lactobacillus species distribution in breast-fed or formula-fed infants has not yet been determined in great detail. For accurate enumeration of different lactobacilli, duplex 5' nuclease assays, targeted on rRNA intergenic spacer regions, were developed for Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus delbrueckii, Lactobacillus fermentum, Lactobacillus paracasei, Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus reuteri, and Lactobacillus rhamnosus. The designed and validated assays were used to determine the amounts of different Lactobacillus species in fecal samples of infants receiving a standard formula (SF) or a standard formula supplemented with galacto- and fructo-oligosaccharides in a 9:1 ratio (OSF). A breast-fed group (BF) was studied in parallel as a reference. During the 6-week intervention period a significant increase was shown in total percentage of fecal lactobacilli in the BF group (0.8% ± 0.3% versus 4.1% ± 1.5%) and the OSF group (0.8% ± 0.3% versus 4.4% ± 1.4%). The Lactobacillus species distribution in the OSF group was comparable to breast-fed infants, with relatively high levels of L. acidophilus, L. paracasei, and L. casei. The SF-fed infants, on the other hand, contained more L. delbrueckii and less L. paracasei compared to breast-fed infants and OSF-fed infants. An infant milk formula containing a specific mixture of prebiotics is able to induce a microbiota that closely resembles the microbiota of BF infants.
The first year of life is a crucial period during which the composition and functionality of the gut microbiota develop to stabilize and resemble that of adults. Throughout this process, the gut ...microbiota has been found to contribute to the maturation of the immune system, in gastrointestinal physiology, in cognitive advancement and in metabolic regulation. Breastfeeding, the “golden standard of infant nutrition,” is a cornerstone during this period, not only for its direct effect but also due to its indirect effect through the modulation of gut microbiota. Human milk is known to contain indigestible carbohydrates, termed human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs), that are utilized by intestinal microorganisms. Bacteria that degrade HMOs like
Bifidobacterium longum
subsp.
infantis
,
Bifidobacterium bifidum
, and
Bifidobacterium breve
dominate the infant gut microbiota during breastfeeding. A number of carbohydrate active enzymes have been found and identified in the infant gut, thus supporting the hypothesis that these bacteria are able to degrade HMOs. It is suggested that via resource-sharing and cross-feeding, the initial utilization of HMOs drives the interplay within the intestinal microbial communities. This is of pronounced importance since these communities promote healthy development and some of their species also persist in the adult microbiome. The emerging production and accessibility to metagenomic data make it increasingly possible to unravel the metabolic capacity of entire ecosystems. Such insights can increase understanding of how the gut microbiota in infants is assembled and makes it a possible target to support healthy growth. In this manuscript, we discuss the co-occurrence and function of carbohydrate active enzymes relevant to HMO utilization in the first year of life, based on publicly available metagenomic data. We compare the enzyme profiles of breastfed children throughout the first year of life to those of formula-fed infants.
Akkermansia muciniphila
has evolved to specialize in the degradation and utilization of host mucus, which it may use as the sole source of carbon and nitrogen. Mucus degradation and fermentation by
...A. muciniphila
are known to result in the liberation of oligosaccharides and subsequent production of acetate, which becomes directly available to microorganisms in the vicinity of the intestinal mucosa. Coculturing experiments of
A
.
muciniphila
with non-mucus-degrading butyrate-producing bacteria
Anaerostipes caccae
,
Eubacterium hallii
, and
Faecalibacterium prausnitzii
resulted in syntrophic growth and production of butyrate. In addition, we demonstrate that the production of pseudovitamin B
12
by
E. hallii
results in production of propionate by
A. muciniphila
, which suggests that this syntrophy is indeed bidirectional. These data are proof of concept for syntrophic and other symbiotic microbe-microbe interactions at the intestinal mucosal interface. The observed metabolic interactions between
A
.
muciniphila
and butyrogenic bacterial taxa support the existence of colonic vitamin and butyrate production pathways that are dependent on host glycan production and independent of dietary carbohydrates. We infer that the intestinal symbiont
A. muciniphila
can indirectly stimulate intestinal butyrate levels in the vicinity of the intestinal epithelial cells with potential health benefits to the host.
The intestinal microbiota is said to be a stable ecosystem where many networks between microorganisms are formed. Here we present a proof of principle study of microbial interaction at the intestinal mucus layer. We show that indigestible oligosaccharide chains within mucus become available for a broad range of intestinal microbes after degradation and liberation of sugars by the species
Akkermansia muciniphila
. This leads to the microbial synthesis of vitamin B
12
, 1,2-propanediol, propionate, and butyrate, which are beneficial to the microbial ecosystem and host epithelial cells.
Highlight • In utero exposure to valproic acid leads to altered postnatal microbial colonization and activity in mice, with preponderance in male offspring.
Bifidobacterium species are one of the major components of the infant's intestine microbiota. Colonization with bifidobacteria in early infancy is suggested to be important for health in later life. ...However, information remains limited regarding the source of these microbes. Here, we investigated whether specific strains of bifidobacteria in the maternal intestinal flora are transmitted to their infant's intestine.
Fecal samples were collected from healthy 17 mother and infant pairs (Vaginal delivery: 12; Cesarean section delivery: 5). Mother's feces were collected twice before delivery. Infant's feces were collected at 0 (meconium), 3, 7, 30, 90 days after birth. Bifidobacteria isolated from feces were genotyped by multilocus sequencing typing, and the transitions of bifidobacteria counts in infant's feces were analyzed by quantitative real-time PCR.
Stains belonging to Bifidobacterium adolescentis, Bifidobacterium bifidum, Bifidobacterium catenulatum, Bifidobacterium longum subsp. longum, and Bifidobacterium pseudocatenulatum, were identified to be monophyletic between mother's and infant's intestine. Eleven out of 12 vaginal delivered infants carried at least one monophyletic strain. The bifidobacterial counts of the species to which the monophyletic strains belong, increased predominantly in the infant's intestine within 3 days after birth. Among infants delivered by C-section, monophyletic strains were not observed. Moreover, the bifidobacterial counts were significantly lower than the vaginal delivered infants until 7 days of age.
Among infants born vaginally, several Bifidobacterium strains transmit from the mother and colonize the infant's intestine shortly after birth. Our data suggest that the mother's intestine is an important source for the vaginal delivered infant's intestinal microbiota.
A healthy intestinal microbiota is considered to be important for priming of the infants' mucosal and systemic immunity. Breast-fed infants typically have an intestinal microbiota dominated by ...different Bifidobacterium species. It has been described that allergic infants have different levels of specific Bifidobacterium species than healthy infants. For the accurate quantification of Bifidobacterium adolescentis, Bifidobacterium angulatum, Bifidobacterium bifidum, Bifidobacterium breve, Bifidobacterium catenulatum, Bifidobacterium dentium, Bifidobacterium infantis, and Bifidobacterium longum in fecal samples, duplex 5' nuclease assays were developed. The assays, targeting rRNA gene intergenic spacer regions, were validated and compared with conventional PCR and fluorescent in situ hybridization methods. The 5' nuclease assays were subsequently used to determine the relative amounts of different Bifidobacterium species in fecal samples from infants receiving a standard formula or a standard formula supplemented with galacto- and fructo-oligosaccharides (OSF). A breast-fed group was studied in parallel as a reference. The results showed a significant increase in the total amount of fecal bifidobacteria (54.8% ± 9.8% to 73.4% ± 4.0%) in infants receiving the prebiotic formula (OSF), with a diversity of Bifidobacterium species similar to breast-fed infants. The intestinal microbiota of infants who received a standard formula seems to resemble a more adult-like distribution of bifidobacteria and contains relatively more B. catenulatum and B. adolescentis (2.71% ± 1.92% and 8.11% ± 4.12%, respectively, versus 0.15% ± 0.11% and 1.38% ± 0.98% for the OSF group). In conclusion, the specific prebiotic infant formula used induces a fecal microbiota that closely resembles the microbiota of breast-fed infants also at the level of the different Bifidobacterium species.
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