Effects of Composition of Infant Formulas on the Intestinal Microflora of Infants

Abstract

This review deals with the effects of composition of infant formulas on the intestinal microflora of infants. The addition of bifidus factor, such as lactulose and mucin, works effectively to stimulate the growth of bifidobacteria, lower pH values and raise the lysozyme activity in the feces of bottle-fed infants. Also, low buffering capacity resultant from reducing the protein and phosphorus content in the formula contributes to the predominance of bifidobacteria. These facts indicate that the addition of bifidus factor and low buffering capacity play a significant role to resemble the fecal microflora of bottle-fed infants to that of breast-fed infants through the enhancing multiplication of bifidobacteria, though the ratio of bifidobacteria count to total anaerobic bacteria count in bottle-fed infants is still lower than that in breast-fed infants.