Fecal bacterial microbiota in constipated patients before and after eight weeks of daily Bifidobacterium infantis 35624 administration

INTRODUCTION AND AIM: In recent years, probiotics have been used in functional gastrointestinal disorders, including chronic constipation (CC). The effect of Bifidobacterium infantis strain 35624 on the gut microbiota of CC patients has not been previously studied. Our aim was to analyze the fecal microbiota of constipated patients, before and after consuming a single-strain probiotic (B. infantis strain 35624).

MATERIALS AND METHODS: We used 16S rRNA gene high-throughput sequencing to analyze the fecal microbiota of female patients (n=13) with CC. Patients were instructed to ingest one capsule of Alflorex® (containing 1×10 9 CFUs/g B. infantis strain 35624) daily for eight weeks. Fecal samples were obtained at the baseline and end (final) of probiotic administration.

RESULTS: Alpha diversity metrics did not differ between the baseline and final periods. The butyrate producer, Oscillospira, was the taxon most strongly correlated with amplicon sequence variants (R 2=0.55, p<0.0001). Except for a few bacterial taxa, there were no significant differences in relative abundance between the baseline and final periods. Beta-diversity measures also showed limited evidence for the differences between the two time periods.

CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that the fecal bacterial microbiota remains stable in constipated women consuming a single-strain probiotic. Those findings may be helpful in better understanding probiotic functioning in patients with digestive disorders.