Title: Polydextrose enrichment of infant formula elicits prebiotic effects without altering systemic growth and development of suckling piglets.
Abstract: Oligosaccharides, the third largest component in human milk, are virtually absent from cow's milk and infant formula. Prebiotic carbohydrates like polydextrose (PDX) are proposed substitutes for some functional properties of human milk oligosaccharides. Safety assessments of novel infant formula ingredients include dose-response experiments in appropriate neonatal animal models such as the suckling pig. One-day old pigs were fed a cow's milk-based formula supplemented with PDX (0, 2, 5, 10 or 20 g/L) for 18 days (n=6/formula group) to further substantiate the efficacy and safety of the ingredient. Additional reference groups included 6 pigs sampled at day 0 and 12 sow-reared pigs. Growth rate, formula intake, stool consistency, behavior score, blood metabolites and relative organ weights (i.e. liver, spleen and kidney as % of body weight) did not differ among formula-fed pigs (P > 0.1). Among PDX-fed pigs, digesta pH decreased linearly (P < 0.05; ileum, cecum, colon) and quadratically (P < 0.05; ileum, cecum) as dietary PDX increased, with a maximal reduction approaching 0.5 pH units in those fed 20 g/L. Cecal and colonic pH of sow-reared pigs were similar to pigs fed 20 g/L PDX, indicating that microbial fermentation may be comparable among these treatments. Polydextrose shows promise as a prebiotic additive in infant formula to better match the oligosaccharide content of human milk.
Publication Year: 2008
Publication Date: 2008-04-01
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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