Breastfeeding Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Breastfeeding, including details on breast feeding benefits, problems, alcohol, diet. | ||||||||
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Quantification of Bifidobacterium spp., Escherichia coli and Clostridium difficile in faecal samples of breast-fed and formula-fed infants by real-time PCR.Penders J, Vink C, Driessen C, London N, Thijs C, Stobberingh EE Department of Epidemiology, Nutrition and Toxicology Research Institute Maastricht (NUTRIM), Maastricht University, 6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands. To determine the influence of either exclusive breast-feeding or formula feeding on both composition and quantity of the gut microbiota in infants, we have developed real-time, quantitative PCR assays for the detection of Bifidobacterium spp. and Clostridium difficile. Furthermore, we have monitored the prevalence and counts of Escherichia coli by applying a previously described real-time PCR assay. We found all 100 infants tested to be colonized by Bifidobacterium spp. The bifidobacterial counts were comparable between the 50 breast-fed and 50 formula-fed infants with median values of 10.56 log10 and 10.24 log10 CFU g(-1) wet weight faeces, respectively. C. difficile was detected in 14% of the breast-fed and 30% of the formula-fed infants. In addition, the C. difficile counts were significantly lower in breast-fed infants than in the formula-fed group (median values of 3.28 log10 and 7.43 log10 CFU g(-1), respectively; p=0.03). The prevalence of E. coli in the breast-fed and formula-fed group was 80% and 94%, respectively. Also, the E. coli counts in colonized infants was significantly lower in the breast-fed infants than in the formula-fed group (median values of 9.11 log10 and 9.57 log10 CFU g(-1), respectively; p=0.004). We conclude that the prevalence and counts of C. difficile as well as E. coli are significantly lower in the gut microbiota of breast-fed infants than in that of formula-fed infants, whereas the prevalence and counts of Bifidobacterium spp. is similar among both groups. Published 25 January 2005 in FEMS Microbiol Lett, 243(1): 141-7.
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