The mysterious bifidus factor: A review

Breast milk (BM) is a complex biological mixture that comprises fats, proteins, enzymes, antibodies, and other essential nutrients, providing babies with the necessary energy and serving as a crucial immunological barrier. It plays a key role in the development of the gastrointestinal tract microbiota in newborns, which is dominated by Bifidobacterium spp. This selective growth of beneficial bacteria is associated with the presence of oligosaccharides in human milk, which have a prebiotic function. Lack of such beneficial microbial components in children who are not breastfed can lead to impaired gastrointestinal function, making them more susceptible to various infectious agents and diseases. That is why infant formula manufacturers have started experimenting with adding artificially synthesized oligosaccharides to baby food to bring it closer to the BM composition. The next step was the introduction into baby foods of oligosaccharides naturally present in the BM. This approach proved successful: due to the addition of oligosaccharides, the microbiome of children became increasingly similar to that developed during breastfeeding, contributing to the improvement of the health and development of babies. These findings suggest that the oligosaccharides contained in human milk are a bifidus factor. One key component is lacto-N-biose I (LNB), a type I disaccharide that is an important building block of BM oligosaccharides. LNB exhibits potent prebiotic activity, stimulating the growth of various Bifidobacterium strains in the intestine and demonstrating significant potential for use in baby’s nutritional products and supplements. Similarly, artificially synthesized galactooligosaccharides and fucosylated oligosaccharide, 2-fucosyl lactose, structurally homologous to BM oligosaccharide, have an anti-inflammatory effect and are widely used in infant formula, complementing the means to support the health of babies.