Influence of 2'-fucosyllactose on the microbiota composition and metabolic activity of fecal cultures from breastfed and formula fed infants at two months of age

Abstract: Breast milk is considered the gold standard of nutrition for infant feeding; however some circumstances make it difficult. Several commercial milk preparations include synthetic human milk oligosaccharides (HMO) in their composition. However, little is still known about the effect of HMO on the establishment of the intestinal microbiota. Independent batch fermentations were performed with feces from six infant donors of two months of age in the presence of 2'fucosyllactose (2'FL), one of the most abundant HMO in human milk. Microbiota composition was analyzed at baseline and at 24 h of incubation by 16S rRNA gene sequencing, and 2'FL consumption, gas accumulation and levels of different metabolites were determined in the culture medium by chromatography. Microbiota profiles at baseline were clearly influenced by the mode of feeding (breast milk or formula) and by the intrinsic ability of microbiotas to degrade 2'FL. The velocity of degradation of 2'FL ranked fecal cultures into slow and fast degraders, regardless of feeding type, this being a determinant factor influencing the evolution of the microbiota during incubation. More studies are needed to decipher the extent to which the early intervention with HMO could influence the microbiota as a function of its ability to utilize 2'FL.