Activated bifidobacteria and methods of use thereof
Some embodiments of the invention include a composition and method for treating dysbiosis in infants. The composition may include a mixture of activated bifidobacteria and a complex oligosaccharide wherein the complex oligosaccharide may be derived from a human or non-human source.
1. A method of improving the health of a mammalian gastrointestinal tract comprising administering a therapeutically effective amount of a composition comprising activated Bifidobacterium to a subject in need thereof, wherein activated Bifidobacterium is Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis in which genes Blon_0042, Blon_2331, Blon_2337, Blon_2338, Blon_2339, and/or Blon_2346 are up-regulated.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the activated Bifidobacterium contains a transport system capable of internalizing one or more oligosaccharide before said oligosaccharide is hydrolyzed and is further capable of hydrolyzing said internalized oligosaccharide, wherein said oligosaccharide has the structure of an oligosaccharide found in a mammalian milk.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the activated Bifidobacterium has been cultured in the presence of at least one mammalian milk oligosaccharide.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the activated Bifidobacterium has a higher binding affinity to mammalian mucosal cells than Bifidobacterium of the same species cultivated in the absence of complex oligosaccharides.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the Bifidobacterium expresses a gene coding for a sialidase, a fucosidase, a sialic acid transporter, and/or a fucose transporter.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the Bifidobacterium is present in the composition at a concentration of from 1 billion cfu/g to 500 billion cfu/g.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the composition further comprises an isolated complex oligosaccharide.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the composition further comprises a stabilizer.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the composition is in the form of a dry powder, a dry powder suspended in an oil, or as a solution.
10. The composition of claim 1 , wherein the composition is in the form of a packet, sachet, orally disintegrating tablet, foodstuff, capsule, lozenge, effervescent tablet, suppository, or enema.
11. A method of increasing the concentration of Bifidobacterium in the gastrointestinal tract of a mammal comprising administering an effective amount of a composition comprising activated Bifidobacterium to a mammal whereby levels of said administered Bifidobacterium in the feces of said mammal are increased to greater than 10% of the total microbiome found in that feces, wherein activated Bifidobacterium is Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis in which genes Blon_0042, Blon_2331, Blon_2337, Blon_2338, Blon_2339, and/or Blon_2346 are up-regulated.
12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the activated Bifidobacterium contains a transport system capable of internalizing one or more oligosaccharide before said oligosaccharide is hydrolyzed and is further capable of hydrolyzing said internalized oligosaccharide, wherein said oligosaccharide has the structure of an oligosaccharide found in a mammalian milk.
13. The method of claim 11 , wherein the activated Bifidobacterium has been cultured in the presence of at least one mammalian milk oligosaccharide.
14. The method of claim 11 , wherein the activated Bifidobacterium has a higher binding affinity to mammalian mucosal cells than Bifidobacterium of the same species cultivated in the absence of complex oligosaccharides.
15. The method of claim 11 , wherein the Bifidobacterium expresses a gene coding for a sialidase, a fucosidase, a sialic acid transporter, and/or a fucose transporter.
16. The method of claim 11 , wherein the Bifidobacterium is present in the composition at a concentration of from 1 billion cfu/g to 500 billion cfu/g.
17. The method of claim 11 , wherein the composition further comprises an isolated complex oligosaccharide.
18. The method of claim 11 , wherein the composition further comprises a stabilizer.
19. The method of claim 11 , wherein the composition is in the form of a dry powder, a dry powder suspended in an oil, or as a solution.
20. The method of claim 11 , wherein the composition is in the form of a packet, sachet, orally disintegrating tablet, foodstuff, capsule, lozenge, effervescent tablet, suppository, or enema.
21. The method of claim 1 , wherein the subject is a human infant.
22. The method of claim 11 , wherein the mammal is a human infant.