User:CatherineRivera082597/Bifidus Factor

Studies showed that infants, who were bottled fed, lacked intestinal colonization of bifidobacteria. This lack of bacteria made the babies susceptible to other infectious bacteria and ailments. The infants who were breast fed had higher concentration of the bacteria and their vulnerability too infections was significantly lower. Breast milk had high amounts of oligosaccharides. As, a result, oligosaccharides were added to milk formula. This method worked and the colonization of bifidobacteria leveled. This suggested that the oligosaccharides found in human milk were candidates for the bifidus factor. However, the bifidus factor’s structure and mechanism remains unknown. One study, “Novel Putative Galactose Operon Involving Lacto-N-Biose Phosphorylase in Bifidobacterium longum” by Motomitsu Kitaoka,* Jiesheng Tian, and Mamoru Nishimotosuggest that the bifidus factor is lacto-N-biose I [LNB], which is a derivative of mucin sugars. The final result from this study hypothesizes that the bifidus factor comes from oligosaccharides, and that this factor is the LBN present in the oligosaccharide. However, the exact structure and mechanism behind the bifidus factor remains unknown

Another study provided evidence as to why the bacteria, bifidobacteria, suppresses infections in infants and children. It was believed that this bacteria is what the intestinal flora was composed of. The bacteria would break down lactic acid and acetic acid. The environment of the intestine would become acidic, preventing the growth of any harmful pathogens. The bifidus factor was used to describe the growth of this intestinal bacteria. Once again, the only known idea behind the bifidus factor is that it is found in oligosaccharides from human milk. One study, Structures and application of oligosaccharides in human milk by Akira Kobata, questions the function of LBN and suggest another method, structure and mechanism of the bifidus factor. Their conclusion proposed that oligosaccharides with a terminals of Galβ1-3GlcNAc are the bifidus factors. It was suggested that these oligosaccharides are broken down and serve as a food source for bifidus strains.