Impact of 2′-Fucosyllactose on Gut Microbiota Composition in Adults with Chronic Gastrointestinal Conditions: Batch Culture Fermentation Model and Pilot Clinical Trial Findings

Abstract

Intestinal dysbiosis has been described in patients with certain gastrointestinal conditions including irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and ulcerative colitis. 2'-fucosyllactose (2'-FL), a prebiotic human milk oligosaccharide, is considered bifidogenic and butyrogenic. To assess prebiotic effects of 2'-FL, alone or in combination with probiotic strains (potential synbiotics), <i>in vitro</i> experiments were conducted on stool from healthy, IBS, and ulcerative colitis adult donors. In anaerobic batch culture fermenters, <i>Bifidobacterium</i> and <i>Eubacterium rectale</i>-<i>Clostridium coccoides</i> counts, and short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) including butyrate increased during fermentation with 2'-FL and some of the 2'-FL/probiotic combinations. In a subsequent open-label pilot trial, the effect of a 2'-FL-containing nutritional formula was evaluated in twelve adults with IBS or ulcerative colitis. Gastrointestinal Quality of Life Index (GIQLI) total and gastrointestinal symptoms domain scores, stool counts of <i>Bifidobacterium</i> and <i>Faecalibacterium prausnitzii</i>, and stool SCFAs including butyrate, increased after six weeks of intervention. Consistent with documented effects of 2'-FL, the batch culture fermentation experiments demonstrated bifidogenic and butyrogenic effects of 2'-FL during fermentation with human stool samples. Consumption of the 2'-FL-containing nutritional formula by adults with IBS or ulcerative colitis was associated with improvements in intra- and extra-intestinal symptoms, and bifidogenic and butyrogenic effects.