subsp. CECT7210 ( IM-1) Displays In Vitro Activity against Some Intestinal Pathogens.

Certain non-digestible oligosaccharides (NDO) are specifically fermented by bifidobacteria along the human gastrointestinal tract, selectively favoring their growth and the production of health-promoting metabolites. In the present study, the ability of the probiotic strain subsp. CECT7210 (herein referred to as IM-1) to utilize a large range of oligosaccharides, or a mixture of oligosaccharides, was investigated. The strain was able to utilize all prebiotics screened. However, galactooligosaccharides (GOS), and GOS-containing mixtures, effectively increased its growth to a higher extent than the other prebiotics. The best synbiotic combination was used to examine the antimicrobial activity against , , and in co-culture experiments. was inhibited by the synbiotic, but it failed to inhibit . Moreover, growth decreased during co-culture with IM-1. Furthermore, adhesion experiments using the intestinal cell line HT29 showed that the strain IM-1 was able to displace some pathogens from the enterocyte layer, especially and , and prevented the adhesion of and . In conclusion, a new synbiotic (probiotic strain IM-1 and GOS) appears to be a potential effective supplement for maintaining infant health. However, further studies are needed to go more deeply into the mechanisms that allow IM-1 to compete with enteropathogens.