Impacts of prebiotics in infant formulas in the first year of life
Abstract
Naturally, prebiotics are introduced into the human body in the first hours of life, through breast milk, however, when breastfeeding is not possible, infants are fed with infant formula (IF). Currently, IF may contain the addition of prebiotics, with the most commonly used being fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS) and galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS). The aim was to evaluate the impacts of infant formula containing FOS and GOS on the development of children in the first year of life, through an integrative review that assessed randomized clinical studies from the last 10 years. FOS are linear polymers of fructose and GOS are composed of short chains of galactose molecules. The studies used in this article demonstrated that FOS and GOS stimulated the growth of Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus in the infant intestinal tract, resulting in more frequent and softer stools, decreased fecal pH, modest reduction in infections in babies, decreased risk of atopic diseases, and stabilization of the sleep-wake cycle. In premature babies, the presence of prebiotics reduced the incidence of necrotizing enterocolitis. Therefore, formulas supplemented with prebiotics were similar to breast milk in relation to the development of intestinal microbiota; formula supplemented with prebiotics can be an appropriate substitute for breast milk when it is not available. Further longitudinal and long-term studies are needed to better understand the effects of prebiotics in early life, including their positive and negative consequences on microbiota function, immunity, and metabolic profiles over time.
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