Relations between the Micorfloral Composition and the Environmental Factors Affecting Korean Infants during Lactation

수유기 영아의 장내균총 조성과 환경인자와의 관계

The relations between micorfloral compositions and environmental factors of 32 Korean infants were sought through statistical analysis after examinaton of fecal bacterial and questions to their mothers about feeding experiences at three different times for each subjects, about one week after birth, before weaning (2-3 months after birth), and after weaning 95-7 months after birth). The majority of mothers fed their infants cereal foods after the age of 4 months and began weaning with fruit juice and commercial weaning foods. Defection frequencies and fecal pH of infants decreased significantly during the examination period and 37.5% of total infants in fecal samples increased significantly during the examination period, which means that the kinds of bacterial genera increase with aging of infants. Frequencies of streptococci were significantly higher in infants fed delivered by Caesarian section than infants delived naturally. Frequencies of clostrida were significantly higher in infants fed with cerealfood before 4 months of age than after 5 months. The infants fed with probiotics showed significantly higher frequencies of veillonella at about 1 week old. They also showed significantly higher frequencies of clostridia before weaning than the infant fed with no probiotics, but significantly lower frequencise of C. perfringens before weaning. The infants fed with probiotics showed significantly higher number of streptococci at the age of about 1 week and significantly higher numbers of total aerobes before weaning, but significantly lower numbers of bacteroides after weaning than their counter parts. The fecla pH was directly proportional to the number of clostridia, klebsiella, and total aerobes at about 1 week after birth, to the number of E. coli before weaning, and to the number of streptococci and clostridia after weaning. Fecal pH had a negative relationship to the total number of anaerobes in 1-week-old infants. The infants that had diarrhea during lactation showed higher frequencies of bacteroides before weaning than those that didn't.