Nutriology of Bifidobacteria

Abstract

「CONTENTS」「1. General Nutritional Requirement」「2. Trials to Establish Bifidus-Flora」Administration of living bifidobacterial preparations Improvement of powdered milk Search for bifidus-factors Bifidus-factor I Bifidus-factor II Lactulose Bifidus-factor in carrot root Other factors Search for sugar sources Selectivity Efficiency Further screening 「3. Proposal for Bifidobacteriology」In those days before 1950, when the manufacture of powdered milk was in its early stages, it was widely recognized that breast-feeding was superior to bottle-feeding for new-born babies, because of a lower frequency of sickness (especially gastro-enteritis), better condition of the patient, and furthermore a lower mortality. There have been reported many hypotheses to explain this observation (Table 1): Breast milk contains anti-bacterial and anti-viral proteins (secretary IgA), macrophages, lymphoid cells and iron-snatching protein (lactoferrin); has no alien substances as antigens; provides mental comfort to babies through close physical contact, and so on.