BACKGROUND Bifidobacteria belong to one of the predominant bacterial groups in the intestinal microbiota of infants and adults. Several beneficial effects on the health status of their human hosts have been demonstrated making bifidobacteria interesting candidates for probiotic applications. Adhesion of probiotics to the intestinal epithelium is discussed as a prerequisite for colonisation of a...

From the foregoing experiments, the conclusion may be drawn that B. bifidus communis of Tissier has an aerobic phase, in which it resembles B. mesentericus fuscus. Numerous intermediate phases can occur between these two extremes; and their morphological and biological variabilities demand the utmost attention in order to interpret more intelligently the various phases of a given organism, cons...

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 co...

Biochemical characterization of the purified bile salt hydrolase (BSH) from Bifidobacterium bifidum ATCC 11863 revealed some distinct characteristics not observed in other species of Bifidobacterium. The bsh gene was cloned from B. bifidum, and the DNA flanking the bsh gene was sequenced. Comparison of the deduced amino acid sequence of the cloned gene with previously known sequences revealed h...

This study was conducted to investigate the catabolism and fermentation of caprine milk oligosaccharides (CMO) by selected bifidobacteria isolated from 4 breast-fed infants. Seventeen bifidobacterial isolates consisting of 3 different species (Bifidobacterium breve, Bifidobacterium longum subsp. longum and Bifidobacterium bifidum) were investigated. A CMO-enriched fraction (CMOF) (50% oligosacc...

The presence of the genes engBF (endo-alpha-N-acetylgalactosaminidase) and afcA (1,2-alpha-L-fucosidase) was detected in several intestinal Bifidobacterium isolates. Two strains of Bifidobacterium bifidum contained both genes, and they were able to degrade high-molecular weight porcine mucin in vitro. The expression of both genes was highly induced in the presence of mucin.

Bifidobacterium is a natural inhabitant of the human gastrointestinal (GI) tract. We studied the role of the extracellular sialidase (SiaBb2, 835 amino acids [aa]) from Bifidobacterium bifidum ATCC 15696 in mucosal surface adhesion and carbohydrate catabolism. Human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) or porcine mucin oligosaccharides as the sole carbon source enhanced B. bifidum growth. This was impa...

Investigation of the effects Bifidobacterium bifidum as a probiotic on liver function enzymes due to exposure E.coli O157H7 in Koi fish (Cyprinus rubrofuscus)