Nestlé Study Highlights Factors Impacting Key Infant Gut Bacteria

04 Feb 2015 --- The Nestlé Research Center (NRC) has announced the results of a joint study that shows the role of external factors, such as mode of birth delivery, that impact the development of key gut bacteria in infants.

The gut bacteria is commonly referred to as the microbiome, which consists of around 100 trillion microorganisms that live in the body and perform a variety of important functions, including supporting the immune system.

The study, published in mBio, an American Society for Microbiology publication, provides further insights that could eventually lead to the development of nutritional products for expectant mothers.

Of further interest is the key finding that infants who acquired a profile high in Bifidobacterium and Collinsella at a later age had lower adiposity at 18 months of age.

At birth, an infant has relatively low levels of microbiota, and they increase until they reach a stable state. External factors, such as mode of delivery, but also nutrition, antibiotics, and the ‘living environment’ can all greatly affect microbial composition. They can have long-lasting effects, right into adulthood.

The study shows that the rate of acquisition of certain microbiota predicts adiposity at 18 months of age and so potentially the risk of later obesity.

In December, Nestlé announced that it will be increasing its investment into maternal nutrition and pledged an extra CHF 22m for its research with the EpiGen Consortium. Its focus is to study how the diet and lifestyles of pregnant women influence the activity of their baby’s genes and how these subtle epigenetic changes impact the future healthy growth and development of their children.

The NRC, the world’s largest private nutritional research centre, worked with researchers at the international EpiGen Consortium, which has made significant research discoveries in recent years in the areas of maternal and young child nutrition. The consortium consists of researchers based at five centres around the world, including the Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research, who led the current study.

Nestlé has been collaborating with the EpiGen Consortium since 2011, studying how the diet and lifestyles of pregnant women influence the activity of their baby’s genes.