Bifidogenic effect of the infant formulas: In vitro investigations

Abstract

Bifidogenic effect is growth stimulation of bifidogenic bacteria - probiotics in the intestinal tract by the effect of food ingredients which are prebiotics for these bacteria. Beside nutritive and biological values, bifidogenic effect is one of the most important indicators for the baby’s food quality. In this paper in vitro bifidogenic effect was checked by testing of six infant formulas in powder from the market (one domestic and five imported products). Mature breast milk was reference substrate. The effects of in vitro bifidogenesis of the infant formulas were observed in the beginning, and after 48 h of the test, and two kinds of parameters were monitored: microbiological (microscopic observation, total bifidobacterial counts and dry biomass) and biochemical (pH, total bacterially generated organic acids - computed as lactic acid and mole ration of acetic and lactic acid). Pancreatin digestion preceded bifidobacteria biomass inoculation. As a discriminatory criterion for investigation of bifidogenic effects, we introduced Bifidogenic Index. In several repeated experiments, we proved that although infant formulas have similar declared nutritive and biological characteristics, there are also important differences in bifidogenic properties between individual products, which are the indicator of their quality in a whole. Domestic products have had best bifidogenic effect.

In vitro testom bifidogenog efekta infant formula obuhvaćeno je 6 proizvoda sa tržišta (jedna domaća formulacija i 5 uvoznih proizvoda). Kao referentni supstrat upotrebljeno je zrelo majčino mleko. Ispitivanje bifidogenog efekta u in vitro uslovima, obuhvatilo je određivanje mikrobioloških i biohemijskih pokazatelja, na početku testa i posle 48 h bifidogeneze. Pankreatinska digestija uzoraka prethodila je inokulaciji sa bifidobakterijama. Kao diskriminatorni kriterijum za ocenu bifidogenog efekta uveli smo Bifidogeni Indeks. U više ponavljanja pokazano je da se, uz slične deklarisane nutritivne i biološke karakteristike, proizvodi značajno razlikuju po bifidogenom efektu, pri čemu je ova osobina najizraženija kod domaće formulacije u poređenju sa ostalim ispitivanim infant formulama.