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Feeding Human Milk to Rats Increases Bifidobacterium in the Cecum and Colon Which Correlates with Enhanced Folate Status^1,2,3,

Division of Applied Human Nutrition ^* Department of Microbiology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1, Canada

The purpose of this investigation was to determine if feeding diets containing human milk resulted in increased numbers of microorganisms implicated in increased folate production and the effect on folate availability. Following a folate-depletion period (5 wk), 30 rats were fed folate-repletion diets (4 wk) with or without 20% milk solids (human, cow or goat) and containing either 906 or 4530 nmol folic acid/kg. At the end of the test period, the cecum and colon were removed in an anaerobic chamber, homogenized, diluted (10^-2–10^-8), and the contents of each plated on selective and nonselective media. In addition to enumeration of the total anaerobic load, five genera of bacteria were counted (Bacteroides, Bifidobacterium, Clostridium, Escherichia and Streptococcus). Rats fed human milk solids had at least a seven- and onefold mean increase in the Bifidobacterium concentration in the cecum (P < 0.006) and colon (P < 0.04), respectively, compared with rats fed other diets. The total anaerobic bacterial concentration in the cecum and the colon of rats fed human milk solids was also greater than that of rats fed the other diets (P < 0.05). The single exception was the total anaerobic count in the cecum of rats consuming goat milk solids, which did not differ from that of rats consuming human milk solids. Further, rats fed human milk solids had at least a 42 and 48% higher mean plasma folate concentration and total cecal material folate content, respectively, than rats in other dietary treatments containing 906 nmol/kg folic acid. Therefore, the improved folate status of rats fed human milk-containing diets appears to be due, at least in part, to increased folate synthesis by Bifidobacteria and other folate-synthesizing microbes in the cecum and colon.

KEY WORDS: • folate • milk • microflora • Bifidobacterium • rats

¹ Supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.

² Presented in part at the 7th International Conference of the International Society for Research in Human Milk and Lactation, July 24–26, 1995, La Trinidad, Tlaxcala, Mexico [Krause, L.J., Forsberg, C. W. & O'Connor, D. L. (1995) An increase in total bacterial load and Bifidobacterium in the cecum and colon is likely responsible for the improved folate status of rats consuming diets containing human milk].

³ The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 USC section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.

⁴ To whom correspondence should be addressed at the Department of Pediatric Research and Development, Ross Products Division, Abbott Laboratories, 625 Cleveland Ave, Columbus, OH 43215-1724.

Manuscript received 23 October 1995. Revision accepted 30 January 1996.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				A. Pompei, L. Cordisco, A. Amaretti, S. Zanoni, D. Matteuzzi, and M. Rossi Folate Production by Bifidobacteria as a Potential Probiotic Property Appl. Envir. Microbiol., January 1, 2007; 73(1): 179 - 185. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]