Characterization of Bifidobacteria Isolated From Breast Fed Infants And Lactating Mothers

摘要

Bifidobacteria are the beneficial bacteria present in larger numbers in the intestines of breast fed infants. As soon as the infant is born, the intestine shows absence of bacteria and is later on taken over by the bifidobacteria as the infant startsgetting mother's milk. In order to know the source for the entry of bifidobacteria into the intestine an attempt has been made in the present study to determine the numbers and identity of bifidobacteria in breast fed infants faeces and on the breast skin of lactating mothers. Faecal samples of breast fed infants of age group below 1 day showed no count of bifidobacteria while the counts reached nearly 6 log count after receiving breast milk. Bifidobacteria may enter the gut of infants through breast feeding as the breast skin swabbing also have revealed bifidobacteria! counts of 2.10 to 4.34 log10 cfu. A total number of 93 isolates from 17 faecal samples of breastfed infants and 10 breast skin of lactating mothers were obtained on Modified Garche*s agar. These isolates were screened for fructose- 6- phosphate phosphoketolase activity to place them under genus bifidobacteria. Of the 93 isolates, 82 isolates showed the presence of fructose -6-phosphate phosphoketolase activity and were speciated as B.dentium (25), B.longum (22), B.bifidum (5), B.adolescentis (2) and unidentified (28). The Correlation between infant faecal isolates and lactating mother's skin isolates is strong at 0.77 which suggests that there is strong association between them.