Bifidobacterium
The most important health-promoting
bacteria in human gut
What is
Bifidobacterium?
Bifidobacterium is one of the most abundant genera in the gut of healthy adults, but its predominance is even more pronounced in infants, especially during breast-feeding. They are known to play important roles in the metabolism of dietary components, otherwise indigestible in the upper parts of the intestine, and in the maturation of the immune system.
Bifidobacterium in
large intestine
It is well known that more than 80% of human immune cells exist in the intestines. Among them, the large intestine is the most bacteria-crowded organ with an oxygen-free environment. Bifidobacterium sp. is a probiotic which mainly inhabits the large intestine at a high level and regulates host immune cells to improve health.
Decreasing
Bifidobacterium
In healthy breast-fed infants, more than 90% of intestinal bacteria are Bifidobacterium, which help prevent infection and maintain the health of the infant. However, these beneficial bacteria decrease continuously with age.
Importance of
Bifidobacterium
As microbiome research continued, we learned that an imbalance in microflora can cause different type of diseases. A decrease in Bifidobacterium is one of the main reasons why a human’s microflora becomes unbalanced.
