Bifidobacterium is a well-studied genus of beneficial bacteria that naturally inhabits the human gut. There are many species of bifidobacteria, and, like all probiotics, their health benefits are strain-specific. Bifidobacterium infantis is a species of bifidobacteria commonly found in the intestines of newborn infants. Morinaga M-63 is a clinically backed, room-temperature stable strain of Bifidobacterium infantis that helps establish healthy microflora in low-birth-weight infants.
A study published in the journal Anaerobe found that low-birth-weight infants given a mix of three Bifidobacteria species, including Morinaga M-63, achieved healthy colonization of microflora more quickly than those infants given no probiotics or only one species.*[1] In fact, after just one week, the rate of detection of Bifidobacteriumin the three-species group was 100%, compared to 57% in the one-species group and 14% in the control group.
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Bifidobacterium infantis is so-named because it is a commonly found species of bifidobacteria in the infant gut.*[2] Research on this species has shown it has abundant gene clusters for utilizing human milk oligosaccharides, which may contribute to its effective colonization in low-birth-weight infants.*[3]
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Safety is of the utmost importance in products intended for medically fragile populations such as low-birth-weight infants. Bifidobacterium infantis occurs naturally in the human gut and is associated with good health. The safety of Morinaga M-63 has been confirmed by oral toxicity tests, analysis of antibiotic resistance, genomic analysis and clinical studies, which found no adverse effects in low-birth-weight infants.*
[1] Yaeshima T, et al. Anaerobe. 2013 Oct; 23:38-44
[2] Matsuki T, et al. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1999 Oct; 65(10):4506-12.
[3] Sela DA, et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008 Dec;105(48):18964-9.
