Bifidobacterium - Probiotics

Probiotics

Some Bifidobacterium strains are considered as important probiotics and used in the food industry. Different species and/or strains of bifidobacteria may exert a range of beneficial health effects, including the regulation of intestinal microbial homeostasis, the inhibition of pathogens and harmful bacteria that colonize and/or infect the gut mucosa, the modulation of local and systemic immune responses, the repression of procarcinogenic enzymatic activities within the microbiota, the production of vitamins, and the bioconversion of a number of dietary compounds into bioactive molecules.

Bifidobacterium spp. are known to discourage the growth of Gram-negative pathogens in infants.

Mother's milk contains high concentrations of lactose and lower quantities of phosphate (pH Buffer). Therefore, when mother's milk is fermented by lactic acid bacteria (incl. bifidobacteria) in the infant's GI tract, the pH may be reduced, making it more difficult for Gram-negative bacteria to grow.