Probiotics tailored to the infant: a window of opportunity

Abstract

Initial neonatal gut colonization is a crucial stage for developing a healthy physiology, beneficially influenced by breast-feeding. Breast milk has been shown not only to provide nutrients and bioactive immunological compounds, but also commensal bacteria, including gut-associated anaerobic bacteria such as Bifidobacterium species. Infant formulas are increasingly supplemented with probiotic bacteria despite uncertainties regarding their efficacy, and lack of mechanistic understanding. Breast milk may be a valuable source of such bacteria which, upon validation of their mechanism of action, might open a window of opportunity for developing probiotic-supplemented infant formula with proven efficacy.