Someone asked:
In my present Ante Natal class, one of the fathers-to-be is a doctor
(specialising in Urology) who asked me about the Lactobacillus story. He
wondered how the Lactobacillus came to be in the baby's gut. If breast milk
is sterile, as is the baby's gut at birth, how can the bacillus get there?
Where does it come from? With the first breastfeed the baby's gut becomes
colonised with the mother's enviromental bacteria but the Lactobacillus is
specific to milk, is it not?

My understanding is that the Bifidus Factor is present in human milk and it
is this that encourages the growth of the Lactobacillus Bifidus, but his way
of thinking was that bacteria could not be found in a sterile environment
(breast milk). I have looked up as many sources as I can find on the
mechanism of the Bifidus Factor, but so far have not found a good enough
answer for the doctor. It is probably a basic understanding but I would like
to be able to give him an accurate answer.

FYI:  Ruth Lawrence's book says about bifidus:
It has been established since the work of Tissier in 1908 on the newborn's intestinal flora that the predominant bacteria of the breastfed infant are bifid bacteria.  Bifid bacteria are gram positive, nonmotile anaerobic bacilli.   Many observers have shown the striking difference between the flora of the guts of breastfed and bottle-fed infants.  Gyorgy demonstrated the presence of a specific factor in colostrum and milk that supported the growth of Lactobacillus bifidus.  Bifidus factor has been characterized as a dialyzable, nitrogen-containing carbohydrate that contains no amino acids.
In vitro studies by Beerens et al showed the presence of a specific growth factor for Bifidobacterium bifidum in human milk, which they called BB.  Other milks, including cow's milk, sheep's milk, pig's milk and infant formulas, did not promote the growth of this species but did show some activity supporting B infantis and B longum.  This growth factor was found to be stable when the milk was frozen, heated, freeze-dried, and stored for 3 months.  Growth-promoting factors were present for the six strains studied, which varied in their resistence to physical change.  Because all these factors were active in vitro, they did not require the presence of intestinal enzymes for activation.  It has not been possible to show the presence of this growth factor in other mammalian milks;  thus it may contribute to the implantation and persistence of B bifudum in the breastfed infant's intestine. 

I have questions about the study's I posted links to the other day (that also have to do with Lactobacillus) :
http://www.thelancet.com/journal/vol357/iss9262/full/llan.357.9262.original_research.15746.1
and
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=11069570&dopt=Abstract

Why would giving probiotics (Lactobacillus GG) to breastfed babies who already should have their own naturally grown Lactobacillus be beneficial?  The Lancet study doesn't say if all the participants were breastfed or if some were formula fed.  I would think the administration of the probiotic Lactobacillus GG would be beneficial for formula fed babies who wouldn't be growing their own.  Or is the difference in the strain of the Lactobacillus growth that is promoted in the gut?  Bifidobacterium Bifido (called BB-from the Lawrence information above) is the flora that results from feeding of human milk; the probiotic administered is Lactobacillus GG.  Is Lactobacillus GG  the exclusive strain that results in the reduction of allergic reactions or does it have the result it does just because it's a *foreign* bacteria to the gut?
Any Lactobacillus experts on the list?
Sally Myer

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