A research team compared breastfed preterm babies in a neonatal intensive care unit to babies who were formula-fed. The breastfed babies were found to have more bacteria from a strain called Bifidobacterium breve in their gut. They had better nutrient absorption because their intestinal wall developed an intact barrier function just one week following birth. The bifidobacteria were much less common in both bottle-fed babies and breastfed infants with a defective barrier function of the lining of the small intestine, also known as leaky gut.
The team also describes in the journal “mBio” that the better weight gain from strengthening the intestinal barrier is due to the way bifidobacteria metabolize breast milk: the bacteria can digest nutrients within their cell membrane instead of releasing digestive enzymes to the outside. They also process carbohydrates differently.
The researchers assume that this metabolic process allows the intestinal barrier to mature faster, which protects the newborn from diseases: an immature and “leaky” intestine can lead to a severe inflammatory bowel disease (necrotizing enterocolitis), which occurs in up to ten percent of premature babies and an extremely high mortality rate of up to 50 percent.
“Our discovery might lead to promising practical interventions to strengthen babies’ guts and thereby increase survival rates of the most vulnerable preemies,” said Prof. Dr. Bing Ma from the University of Maryland.
Which: DOI 10.1128/race.01299-22
