Bifidobacterium - Meet The Family

Bifidobacterium are another group of probiotics with enough members in the family to make it confusing to sort out which supplement is best for you.

So let's look at why one the Bifidobacterium family might be a very good choice for you.

Although discovered back in 1899 they have been grouped in with Lactobacillus for much of this time due to their similarities.

There are currently (2014) 58 species (including subspecies)⁵ but the commonest found in humans include:

• Bifidobacterium longum
• B infantis
• B breve
• B bifidum
• B subsp lactis
• B supsp animalis
• B adolescentis
• B pseudocatenulatum.

  Check out those links above to see how each different strain can help you and where you might find them.

  

  The commonest species found in animals include B pseudolongum, B thermophilus and B animalis. The animal species are rarely found in the human intestinal tract and human species are almost never found in animal intestines.

  12 species of Bifidobacterium have been associated with humans: Bifidobacterium adolescentis, B infantis, B longum, B bifidum, B breve, B catenulatum, B pseudocatenulatum, B angulatum, B gallicum, B inopinatum, B dentium, and B denticolens⁴. So these are the ones that naturally "belong" to the human gastrointestinal tract (and a few other area of our bodies.)

  And whilst most of them are beneficial to human health, not all of them are. B dentium causes caries in teeth.

  This beneficial bacteria is known to live in five different "ecolgical niches" - the intestine, the oral cavity, food, the insect gut, and sewage. And although you might be thinking "yuck" at this point, it is clear that this bacteria has been intimately involved with mankind.

  We're supposed to be living together and it's presence can do us nothing but good.

   

  Bifidobacterium Probiotics

   

  What food is it found in?

  Just like some other useful bacteria, many Bifidobacteria species are found in fermented dairy foods, especially yogurt, cheeses, butter, and probiotic drinks.

  Whether it is actually present will depend on the method of manufacturing and storage but the potential is there. These are the food groups to be looking for if you wish to increase your intake of this valuable and health giving bacteria but unfortunately beneficial bacteria are rarely listed as an ingredient.

  However, because they enjoy anaerobic (airless) conditions, they are not always the easiest of companions to "grow" inside the typical yogurt mix. This is definitely one probiotic to NOT attempt to grow yourself.

  I mention this because I repeatedly hear of people claiming to grow their own probiotics in yogurt by emptying a probiotic capsule in to it. Unless you are a microbiologist with full laboratory facilites at your call, you simply have no idea what you're growing! Probably it will be one of the helpful lactic acid bacteria but it certainly won't be any of the Bifidobacterium strains!

  One strain of the yogurt starter Streptococcus thermophilus (ST6008, deposited under DSM18111) has been found to greatly improve the growth of Bifidobacteria during the fermentation process.

  Bifidobacteria live in greatest numbers in the lower part of the colon where their success is due to their ability to metabolize complex carbohydrates.

  A particular type of fiber called nondigestible carbohydrates (NDCHs) is fermented in the colon, where they encourage the growth of bifidobacteria but not other bacteria. So by eating plenty of non-digestible carboydrates you can naturally increase your supply of these helpful bacteria

  You'll find nondigestible carboydrates in cellulose, wheat bran, gum arabic, resistant maltodextrin, polydextrose, fructooligosaccharide, galactooligosaccharides, and RS.

  This is the philosphy behind prebiotics and is used by supplements such as Theralac which have both Bifidobacteriuim and NDCH.

  The side effects of a diet too high in fiber include wind and bowel distention so make sure you increase your fiber slowly to give your existing bacteria time to be accustomed to this extra source.

   

  What probiotic supplements is it found in?

  It can be found in many probiotic supplements such as Align Digestive Care which contains a single strain or a multi probiotic such as Theralac.

  Either of these is an excellent choice.

  You can read about my own experiences with this supplement Align and antibiotic diarrhea. Antibiotics are strongly detrimental to the survival of Bifidobacterium (more so than to some other probiotics) and a supplement that contains it should always be taken when undergoing antibiotic therapy.

  One point to note is that when Bifidobacteria are grown in synthetic media for many generations (as they are when making supplements) there can be a loss of chromosomal regions⁵. Food is always the best source of probiotics however the same problem can arise if the bacteria has been added to the food rather than being a natural part of it.

   

  Why you need Bifidobacteria

  Although Bifidobacteria make up only 3 to 6% of the bacteria count in adult stools, their presence has been associated with many beneficial health effects such as the prevention of diarrhea, the reduction of lactose intolerance, an immune enhancement¹.

  When you examine the number of problems where a lowered number of Bifidobacteria in the colon is known to occur - diarrhea, Crohn' disease, Inflammatory Bowel disease (IBD) -you can see just why this probiotic is of such importance to human health.

  They assist with both vitamin and protein synthesis, assist in digestion and absorption, prevent colonization of bad bacteria, and stimulate the immune response. ³

  Some strains of this bacteria have been successful in either treating or helping with necrotizing enterocolitis (in infants), diarrhea in infants, traveler's diarrhea, atopic eczema, IBS, pouchitis, Helicobacter pylori and ulcerative colitis.

  It is often used in combination with other probiotics so that a multi- probiotic is often your best supplement with this particular bacteria. Some strains such as Bifantis have been trademarked.

  You can see that most of the health problems where it has shown to be of use are to do with gastrointestinal tract.

  Antibiotics can severly affect the populations of all strains of Bifidobacteria so that a supplment may be necessary after finishing your course of antibiotics.

   

   

  Species and Strains of Bifidobacterium

  I include this section for those trying to make a connection between the strain number (or letters) in their probiotic supplement and strains used in medical studies. (Note that these are not all probiotic or even associated with humans. Some are only found in other animal species.)

  There are hundreds of agencies that have bacterial collections and each one has its own code. This list shows the codes given for the identical bacteria by different agencies.

  Two species are often confused due to name changes back in 2004 - B animalis and B lactis.

  The Science

  Family: Bifidobacteriaceae

  Genus: Bifidobacterium

  Species: Over 30 species including B infantis, B longum and B bifidum.

  A gram-positive, anaerobic, branched rod-shaped bacterium.

  In the intestines, they ferment sugars to produce lactic acid.
  1. B adolescentis DSM 20083 - ATCC 15703 - NCTC 11814 - NCIMB 702204 - NCDO2204 - BF32 - E 194A
  2. B adolescentis DSM 20086 - ATCC 15705 - NCIMB 702230 - NCDO2230 - NCIMB 702230 - BF34 - E 298b
  3. B adolescentis ATCC15704 - NCDO2229 - NCIMB 702229 - BF33 - E 305
  4. B adolescentis ATCC15706 - NCDO2231 - NCIMB 702231 - BG35 - E 319a
  5. Bifidobacterium animalis subsp lactis DSM 10140 - CIP 105265 - JCM 10602
  6. B bifidum DSM 20456 - ATCC 29521 - JCM 1255 - VPI11241 - NCDO2715 - Tissier T1
  7. B bifidum DSM 20082 - JCM 1254
  8. B bifidum DSM 20215
  9. B bifidum DSM 20239 - ATCC 11863 - JCM 1209 - NCDO 795 - NCIMB 700795 - Penn
  10. B breve DSM 20213 - ATCC 15700 - NCTC 11815 - NCDO2257 - NCIMB 702257 - S1 (var a)- BF 37
  11. B breve DSM 20091 - ATCC 15698 - NCDO2258 - NCIMB 702258 - S50 - BF39
  12. B catenulatum DSM 16992 - ATCC 27539 - CECT 7362 - CIP 104175 - DSM 20103
  13. B catenulatum DSM 20224
  14. B pseudocatenulatum DSM 20438 - ATCC 27919
  15. B gallicum DSM 20093 - ATCC 49850 - JCM 8224
  16. B longum subsp longum DSM 20218 - ATCC 17930 - JCM 1260
  17. B longum subsp longum DSM 20219 - ATCC 15707 - NCTC 11818
  18. B longum subsp longum DSM 20097
  19. B longum subsp longum DSM 20090 - ATCC 15702 - JCM 1272 - NCIMB 702256 - NCDO2256 - BF42 - S76E - B infantis
  20. B longum subsp infantis DSM 20088 - ATCC 15697 - NCTC 11817 - B infantis - NCDO2205 - NCIMB 702205 - BF38 - S12
  21. B longum subsp infantis DSM 20223 - ATCC25962 - NCDO2255 - NCIMB 702255 - BF41 - 659
  22. B longum subsp infantis - UCC35624 - Align
  23. B pseudolongum subsp pseudolongum - DSM20092 - ATCC25865 NCDO2245 - NCIMB 702245 - RU224 - BF48
  24. B pseudolongum supsp pseudolongum DSM 20099 : ATCC 25526 : NCDO2244 : NCIMB 702244 : PNC-2-9G : BF29

   

   

  REFERENCES

  1. Mark A. Schell, Maria Karmirantzou, Berend Snel, David Vilanova, Bernard Berger, Gabriella Pessi, Marie-Camille Zwahlen, Frank Desiere, Peer Bork, Michele Delley, R. David Pridmore, and Fabrizio Arigoni. The genome sequence of Bifidobacterium longum reflects its adaptation to the human gastrointestinal tract. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2002 October 29; 99(22): 14422-14427.

  2. Wiki

  3. Ishibashi N, Yaeshima T and Hayasawa H. Bifidobacteria: their significance in human intestinal health. Mal J Nutr 3: 149-159, 1997.

  4. Reetta M Satokari, Elaine E Vaughan, Antoon D L Akkermans, Maria Saarela, Willem M de Vos. Bifidobacterial Diversity in Human Feces Detected by Genus- Specific PCR and Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis. Applied And Environmental Microbiology, Feb. 2001, p. 504-513 0099-2240/01/$04.0010 DOI: 10.1128/AEM.67.2.504–513.2001

  5. Francesca Turronia, Douwe van Sinderenb and Marco Ventura. Genomics and ecological overview of the genus Bifidobacterium. Int J. Food Microbiol. (2011). doi:10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2010.12.010