Bifidobacterium

About Bifidobacterium

Bifidobacterium is a genus of Gram positive, anaerobic, often branched rod shaped bacteria that are among the main inhabitants of the human gut. They were first isolated around the turn of the twentieth century by the French pediatrician Henri Tissier at the Pasteur Institute from the stool of a breastfed infant. Bifidobacteria typically dominate the gut microbiota of breastfed infants because some species, such as Bifidobacterium longum subspecies infantis, are specialized to digest human milk oligosaccharides. Their numbers generally decline with age. They ferment carbohydrates to produce lactic and acetic acids, which lower gut pH. Bifidobacterium strains are common ingredients in probiotic supplements and fermented dairy products and are studied for antibiotic associated diarrhea, irritable bowel syndrome and infant colic, with effects that are strain specific and evidence that varies by condition. Probiotic use in preterm infants is an area of active debate, and regulators have warned about the risk of serious infection in this group.