AUTHOR=Zhang Qi , Zhao Wen , Zhao Yuyang , Duan Sufang , Liu Wei-Hsien , Zhang Chao , Sun Siyuan , Wang Tingting , Wang Xin , Hung Wei-Lian , Wang Ran 

TITLE=In vitro Study of Bifidobacterium lactis BL-99 With Fructooligosaccharide Synbiotics Effected on the Intestinal Microbiota

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Nutrition

VOLUME=9

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/nutrition/articles/10.3389/fnut.2022.890316

DOI=10.3389/fnut.2022.890316

ISSN=2296-861X

ABSTRACT=<p>Probiotics and prebiotics relieve constipation by altering the composition of the intestinal microbiota. However, their synergistic mechanism of action remains unclear. Herein, an <italic>in vitro</italic> fermentation model was constructed to examine the synergistic effects of <italic>Bifidobacterium lactis</italic> BL-99 and fructooligosaccharide (FOS) on the regulation of intestinal microbiota from a population with constipation. The utilization of FOS was promoted by BL-99, and the increase rate being 22.33%. Relative to the BL-99 and the FOS groups, the BL-99_FOS group showed a highly significant increase in acetic acid content (<italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.01) and a marked decrease in CO<sub>2</sub> and H<sub>2</sub>S contents (<italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.01) in the fermentation broth. In addition, the BL-99_FOS combination significantly changed the structure of the intestinal microbiota, enhanced the relative abundances of beneficial bacteria that relieved constipation, including <italic>Bifidobacterium, Fecalibacterium, Lactobacillus, Subdoligranulum</italic>, and <italic>Blautia</italic>, and decreased those of the harmful bacteria, including <italic>Bilophila</italic> and <italic>Escherichia-Shigella</italic>. These findings suggested that BL-99 and FOS synergistically regulated the composition and structure of the intestinal microbiota from the population with constipation and increased acetic acid and decreased CO<sub>2</sub> and H<sub>2</sub>S levels, thereby providing a theoretical basis for the application of synbiotics.</p>