Detection of viable Bifidobacterium lactis HN019 (DR10™) in stools of children during a synbiotic dietary intervention trial

Faecal samples were collected from healthy children (1-3 years) completing a 12-month randomised, controlled dietary intervention trial where the effect of a milk formulation supplemented with probiotic strain Bifidobacterium lactis HN019 and prebiotic galacto-oligosaccharide (treatment) on the incidence of early childhood morbidities was compared with that of non-supplemented formulation (control). Samples were assessed for major bacterial groups and the presence of B. lactis HN019 using conventional culturing and/or qPCR. Total faecal bifidobacteria did not differ between the control and the treatment group. B. lactis HN019 was not detected in control group samples, but all treatment samples were observed to contain B. lactis HN019 by qPCR with >80% containing cultivable B. lactis HN019. There were no differences in numbers of lactobacilli or total bacteria between groups. The ingested probiotic B. lactis HN019 survived the gastrointestinal tract of young children and therefore may have contributed to the reported beneficial clinical outcomes.