The formulation of infant formula has an effect on the intestinal flora of babies. This was discovered by a team led by Prof. Dirk Haller from the Department of Nutrition and Immunology at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) in a study involving 210 children. According to the study, baby food enriched with galacto-oligosaccharides ensures a higher concentration of desired bifidobacteria in the intestine than substitute food enriched directly with bifidobacteria.
Breast milk is considered the gold standard for healthy infant nutrition, and a variety of ingredients ensure the normal development of intestinal flora. Prof. Dirk Haller emphasizes: "Infant formula in combination with breast milk leads to normal intestinal flora development. We were also able to prove that different replacement formulas directly affect the composition of the intestinal flora."
The differences were particularly evident between the infants' third and seventh month of life. Adding bifidobacteria to the infant formula did not lead to the hoped-for increase in these bacteria in the intestine. Breast milk and substitute formula mixed with galacto-oligosaccharides worked measurably better here. The researchers gained their findings through molecular examinations of the babies' food and stool over a period from birth to twelve months of age.
Nina Heppner, Sandra Reitmeier, Marjolein Heddes et al: "Diurnal rhythmicity of infant fecal microbiota and metabolites: A randomized controlled interventional trial with infant formula", published in Cell Host & Microbe, DOI: https://www.cell.com/cell-host-microbe/fulltext/S1931-3128(24)00058-1
