• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.255-259
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• 1996

$\beta$-Glucosidase was known to be involved in the mutagenic activation of $\beta$-glucosides. The level of $\beta$-glucosidase in the feces of adults was 2.7 times higher than that of infants. There was no difference in the percentage of $\beta$-glucosidase positive strains among Bifidobacterium isolates between adults and infants, corresponding to 90 and 92$%$, respectively. However, the strains from adults showed 1.9 times higher enzyme activity than those from infants when grown in Brain Heart Infusion medium. $\beta$-Glucosidase negative strains could not ferment $\beta$-glucosidase substrates, such as cellobiose, salicin, naringin, esculin and arbutin. Presence of $\beta$-glucosidase in Bifidobacterium did not alter the degree of growth in reconstituted skim milk. The $\beta$-glucosidase level was much lower in milk and vegetable medium, although cells grew above $10^8$cfu/ml, than in BHI medium. This study suggests that metabolic activation of the $\beta$-glucosides by Bifidobacterium $\beta$-glucosidase varies significantly depending on types of growth medium.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.453-458
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• 1994

Intestinal microbial flora comprise one third of the large intestinal contents in human. They play a significant effects through beneficial and harmful action on the human health. This is the first study which examined the composition of the microflora of the general population in Korea. Bacteroides, Bifidobacterium, Eubacterium, Peptostreptococcus, Lactobacillus, Streptococcus, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus, Clostridium perfringens, total aerobic bacteria and total anaerrobic bacteria were counted using various selective and non-selective media. Among the bacteria studied the number of Bifidobacterium were greatest in breast-fed infants(30-90 days old), whereas Streptocuccus and Bifidobacterium in bottle-fed infants. In 20-40 age group Bacteroides were predominant followed by Bifidobacterium and Eubacterium. In early group(over 65 years old) Bacteroides were predominant followed by Eubacterium and bifidobacterium. The frequency and number of Cl. perfringens were highest in dlderly group. These results confirm that the microfloral pattern in large intestine change during the life cycle of humans.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2021

Human breast milk is a potential source of bacteria for the development of the intestinal microbiota of infants. Several species within the genera Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium were demonstrated to shape the gut microbiota of infants. In this study, the bacterial diversity was investigated in the breast milk and feces of a mother-infant pair, and probiotic candidates were identified. Importantly, the novel L. gasseri EJL and B. breve JTL strains were isolated from breast milk and infant feces samples, respectively; their completed genome was resolved using de novo sequencing. In addition, the bacterial composition in the infant's feces at 1 week revealed the prevalence of Bifidobacterium and Streptococcus; a higher diversity was observed after 3 weeks. In particular, the abundance of Akkermansia was sharply increased at 7 weeks, further increasing thereafter, up to 15 weeks. Our results suggest that human breast milk and infant's feces are a source of probiotic candidates.

• 한국생물공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2001.11a
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• pp.422-425
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• 2001

For isolating and identifying Bifidobacterium spp. originating from Korea, feces were sampled from healthy Korean infants nursery school and postpartum care center. Through the use of gram staining and microscopic examination for cell morphology, 87 bacterial strains presumed to be the Bifidobacterium strains were isolated from 59 Koreans. To identify the Bifidobacterium strains at the genus level, these bacteria were then analyzed using the TLC method. As a result, 29 of the isolated strains were confirmed as members of the genus Bifidobacterium. 29 Bifidobacterium strains were tested acid, bile salts and oxygen tolerance and investigated antioxidative effect specially. And determined the superiority of 5 strains out of 29 Bifidobacterium strains. Finally, the selected bifidobacterium was identified with using designed 16S-ITS rDNA primer.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.268-273
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• 2019

The intestinal microbiomes vary according to the factors such environment, age and diet. The purpose of this study was to compare the gut microbial diversity between Korean infants receiving breast-fed milk and formula-fed milk. We analyzed microbial communities in stool samples collected from 80 Korean infants using next generation sequencing. Phylum level analysis revealed that microbial communities in both breast-fed infants group (BIG) was dominated by Actinobacteria ($74.22{\pm}3.48%$). Interestingly, the phylum Actinobacteria was dominant in formula-fed infants group A (FIG-A) at $73.46{\pm}4.12%$, but the proportions of phylum Actinobacteria were lower in formulafed infants group B and C (FIG-B and FIG-C) at $66.52{\pm}5.80%$ and $68.88{\pm}4.33%$. The most abundant genus in the BIG, FIG-A, FIG-B, and FIG-C was Bifidobacterium, comprising $73.09{\pm}2.31%$, $72.25{\pm}4.93%$, $63.81{\pm}6.05%$, and $67.42{\pm}5.36%$ of the total bacteria. Furthermore, the dominant bifidobacterial species detected in BIG and FIG-A was Bifidobacterium longum at $68.77{\pm}6.07%$ and $66.85{\pm}4.99%$ of the total bacteria. In contrast, the proportions of B. longum of FIG-B and FIG-C were $58.94{\pm}6.20%$ and $61.86{\pm}5.31%$ of the total bacteria. FIG-A showed a community similar to BIG, which may be due to the inclusion of galactooligosaccharide, galactosyllactose, synergy-oligosaccharide, bifidooligo and improvement material of gut microbiota contained in formula-milk. We conclude that 5-Bifidus factor contained in milk powder promotes the growth of Bifidobacterium genus in the intestines.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.242-248
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• 2015

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Feeding in infancy is the most significant determinant of the intestinal microbiota in early life. The aim of this study was to determine the gut microbiota of Korean infants and compare the microbiota obtained between breast-fed and formula-fed Korean infants. SUBJECTS/METHODS: We analyzed the microbial communities in fecal samples collected from twenty 4-week old Korean (ten samples in each breast-fed or formula-fed) infants using pyrosequencing. RESULTS: The fecal microbiota of the 4-week-old Korean infants consisted of the three phyla Actinobacteria, Firmicutes, and Proteobacteria. In addition, five species, including Bifidocbacterium longum, Streptococcus salivarius, Strepotococcus lactarius, Streptococcus pseudopneumoniae, and Lactobacillus gasseri were common commensal intestinal microbiota in all infants. The predominant intestinal microbiota in the breast-fed infants (BFI) included the phylum Actinobacteria (average 70.55%), family Bifidobacteriacea (70.12%), genus Bifidobacterium (70.03%) and species Bifidobacterium longum (69.96%). In the microbiota from the formula-fed infants (FFI), the proportion of the phylum Actinobacteria (40.68%) was less, whereas the proportions of Firmicutes (45.38%) and Proteobacteria (13.85%) as well as the diversity of each taxonomic level were greater, compared to those of the BFI. The probiotic species found in the 4-week-old Korean infants were Bifidobacterium longum, Streptococcus salivarius, and Lactobacillus gasseri. These probiotic species accounted for 93.81% of the microbiota from the BFI, while only 63.80% of the microbiota from the FFI. In particular, B. longum was more abundant in BFI (69.96%) than in FFI (34.17%). CONCLUSIONS: Breast milk supports the growth of B. longum and inhibits others. To the best of our knowledge, this study was the first attempt to analyze the gut microbiota of healthy Korean infants according to the feeding type using pyrosequencing. Our data can be used as a basis for further studies to investigate the development of intestinal microbiota with aging and disease status.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.33 no.8
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• pp.1348-1352
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• 2004

More than 200 Bifidobacterium sp. originated from human intestine were investigated for their ability to produce conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). Of the Bifidobacteria tested, 1 of culture type strain and 12 isolated strains from Korean infants showed CLA producing ability. cis-9, trans-11 octadecadienoic acid presented more than 90% of the total CLA isomers produced by the Bifidobacteria. CLA content in fermented milk by Bifidobacterium sp. KHU 141 increased by 39.6 mg/l00 g, which showed the potential use for producing fermented milk containing high content of CLA. In fermented milk, little changes showed in lauric acid, myristric acid, palmitic acid, oleic acid, and linolenic acid contents, whereas the content of linoleic acid (LA) decreased and the content of CLA increased. Bifidobacterium sp. KHU 141 converted 86.0% and 84.8% of LA consumed to CLA for 24 hr and 48 hr fermentation, respectively. Prolonging incubation from 24 to 48 hours did not appear to enhance CLA formation and CLA producing ability was stable whether bottle, test tube, or fermenter was used for making fermented milk by Bifidobacterium sp. KHU 141.

• Journal of Dairy Science and Biotechnology
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.19-28
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• 2006

This study was conducted to isolate antilisterial strains of the Bifidobacterium isolates from the infant feces. The bifidobacteria were isolated anaerobically on BL agar and screened for their inhibitory activity on the MRS-cysteine medium against three foodborne pathogens: Listeria monocytogenes, Bacillus cereus, and Staphylococcus aureus. Among the 52 bifidobacterial isolates, 5 strains(A24, Bl, B6, B10, and Bl2) were finally selected based on their stronger antilisterial activity against Listeria monocytogenes than other isolates tested. Morphologically, all the isolates were typically shown Y-and V-shaped under electron microscopic examination. Each isolate was primarily subjected to identification by a polymerase chain reaction(PCR) using a genus-specific primer designed for targeting the 16S rRNA gene sequence, and confirmed the primary identification data using an API-kit(Biomeriuex, France), commercially available product for identification based on biochemical and physiological traits. Of the isolates with antilisterial activity, strain A24 was finally confirmed as the Bifidobacterium longum A24.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.319-329
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• 2010

Bifidobacteria comprises up to 25% of the cultivable fecal bacteria in adults and 80% in infants. Many in vivo and clinical research results supporting its efficacy in the prevention and improvement of gastrointestinal health have been accumulated. As a consequence, expert committee WHO/FAO expert committee recommended Bifidobacterium as representative probiotics together with Lactobacillus acidophilus. In this review, research trends in bifidobacteria concerning the classification and identification of the genus Bifidobacterium, modulation of intestinal microflora, improvement of constipation, prevention of diarrhea, alleviation of atopy and allergy, barrier function through antimicrobial activity andimmune enhancement of the host will be introduced. Several gene expression systems based on bifidobacterial plasmids have been developed and successfully used to express several heterologous genes including anticancer proteins in Bifidogacterium. In animal test, bifidobacteria was proven to be a promising candidate for safe gene delivery system which can specifically colonize in the solid tumor.

• Journal of Dairy Science and Biotechnology
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.40-48
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• 2019

Bifidobacteria are a prototype probiotic, which normally inhabit the intestinal tract of humans. In the present study, four species of Bifidobacterium isolated from the feces of infants were characterized. The tolerance for acid or bile salt, autoaggregation, and antibiotic resistance of the bacteria were examined. The four species were resistant to low pH, bile salts, and up to 3% bile acid. Autoaggregation rates were as high as 90%. The bacteria were consistently resistant to gentamicin, kanamycin, streptomycin, ciprofloxacin, and nalidixic acid. Due to their tolerance to environmental factors like acid and bile salts, B. longum MG723, B. breve MG729, B. bifidum MG731, and B. animalis subsp. lactis MG741 are potentially valuable as probiotics and may be useful for industrial application.