Infant Formula Enriched With Prebiotics Benefits Babies’ Gut Microflora

Belgian researchers who conducted a clinical trial involving 110 infants found that daily feeding of a formula enriched with prebiotics resulted in an intestinal bacteria profile very similar to that found in breastfed babies. The infants in the trial were fed either 0.4 or 0.8 grams per deciliter of Beneo Orafti Synergy1 – a one-to-one blend of inulin and oligofructose – 0.8 grams per deciliter of a nine-to-one blend of galactooligosaccharides and oligofructose (GOS:FOS), or conventional formula. These infants were all compared against breastfed infants. The researchers found that infants in the prebiotics-fed groups had significantly higher bifidobacterium counts after two and four weeks and were “comparable with the breast-fed group.” Both the Orafti Synergy1 and GOS:FOS mixtures were well-tolerated by the infants as well.