Prebiotic Effect of Lacto-<i>N</i>-biose I on Bifidobacterial Growth

Abstract

We demonstrated the prebiotic effect of lacto-N-biose I (Galbeta1-3GlcNAc) on bifidobacteria in vitro. Lacto-N-biose I, a building unit of the type-I milk oligosaccharides, enhanced the growth of many bifidobacteria, especially Bifidobacterium bifidum, B. breve, and B. longum, which are predominant in the intestines of breast-fed infants. It might be a substantial, natural prebiotic in human colostrums.