Addition of gangliosides to an adapted milk formula modifies levels of fecal Escherichia coli in preterm newborn infants.

Abstract

Because some gangliosides bind bacteria, we tested the influence of supplementating an adapted milk formula with gangliosides, at a total concentration of 1.43 mg/100 kcal, on the fecal microflora of preterm infants. At all sampling times, feces from infants fed with ganglioside-supplemented formula had significantly lower relative content of Escherichia coli than feces from infants fed with control milk formula: the difference was especially significant at age 7 days postnatal < .001). At age 30 days postnatal, fecal bifidobacterial counts were higher in infants fed with ganglioside-supplemented formula (P < .05). We conclude that gangliosides at concentrations present in human milk significantly modify the fecal flora.