title: Maternal Prebiotic Ingestion Increased the Number of Fecal Bifidobacteria in Pregnant Women but Not in Their Neonates Aged One Month.
abstract: Fructooligosaccharides (FOS) can selectively stimulate the growth of bifidobacteria. Here, we investigated the effect of maternal FOS ingestion on maternal and neonatal gut bifidobacteria. In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, we administered 8 g/day of FOS or sucrose to 84 women from the 26th week of gestation to one month after delivery. The bifidobacteria count was detected using quantitative PCR in maternal (26 and 36 weeks of gestation) and neonatal (one month after delivery) stools. Maternal stool frequency was recorded from 24 to 36 weeks of gestation. The number of fecalBifidobacteriumspp. andBifidobacterium longumin the FOS group was significantly higher than that in the placebo group at 36 weeks of gestation (2.7 × 1010/g vs. 1.1 × 1010/g and 2.3 × 1010/g vs. 9.7 × 10⁸/g). In their neonates, these numbers did not differ between the groups. Also, stool frequency in the FOS group was slightly higher than that in the placebo group two weeks after the intervention (1.0 vs. 0.8 times/day), suggesting a potential constipation alleviation effect. In conclusion, the maternal FOS ingestion showed a bifidogenic effect in pregnant women but not in their neonates.
authors.affiliation: Food Science Research Laboratories, R&D Division, Meiji Co., Ltd., 540 Naruda, Odawaara Kanagawa 250-0862, Japan. shinji.jinno@meiji.com.
authors.forename: Shinji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jinno
authors.affiliation: Food Science Research Laboratories, R&D Division, Meiji Co., Ltd., 540 Naruda, Odawaara Kanagawa 250-0862, Japan. takayuki.toshimitsu@meiji.com.
authors.forename: Takayuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Toshimitsu
authors.affiliation: Food Science Research Laboratories, R&D Division, Meiji Co., Ltd., 540 Naruda, Odawaara Kanagawa 250-0862, Japan. yoshitaka.nakamura@meiji.com.
authors.forename: Yoshitaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba 260-8670, Japan. takayuki.kubota@meiji.com.
authors.forename: Takayuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kubota
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba 260-8670, Japan. yuka_nz_kumamoto@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Yuka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Igoshi
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba 260-8670, Japan. n.ozawa0904@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Naoko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ozawa
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, National Shimoshizu Hospital, Chiba 284-0003, Japan. seeyou@msj.biglobe.ne.jp.
authors.forename: Shuichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba 260-8670, Japan. taibokku2000@yahoo.co.jp.
authors.forename: Taiji
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nakano
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba 260-8670, Japan. m0ritan@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Yoshinori
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Morita
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba 260-8670, Japan. takayasuarima@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Takayasu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Arima
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba 260-8670, Japan. fyamaide@chiba-u.jp.
authors.forename: Fumiya
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Yamaide
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba 260-8670, Japan. kohnoy@chibah.rofuku.go.jp.
authors.forename: Yoichi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kohno
authors.affiliation: Masuda Maternity Clinic, Chiba 289-2144, Japan. ke-masuda@umin.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Kentaro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Masuda
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba 260-8670, Japan. shimojo@faculty.chiba-u.jp.
authors.forename: Naoki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Shimojo
mesh_terms: D001644:Bifidobacterium; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D009844:Oligosaccharides / Q000008:administration & dosage; D056692:Prebiotics / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D011247:Pregnancy
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D009844:Oligosaccharides; D056692:Prebiotics; C116580:fructooligosaccharide
keywords: bifidobacteria; constipation; feces; fructooligosaccharides; infancy; prebiotic; pregnancy; stool frequency