Effect of Inulin on the Growth and Antimicrobial Activity of Bifidobacterium animalis Subsp. Lactis 420- an Assessment

Due to the wide variations among prebiotics in their ability to influence the growth and beneficial attributes of probiotics assessment of the compatibility between the probiotic and the prebiotic is an essential parameter while selecting potential synbiotic pairs. In this study effect of a prebiotic, inulin on the growth and antimicrobial activity of a probiotic Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis 420 was assessed through in -vitro and in-vivo studies .In -vitro studies revealed the ability of inulin to support the growth and antimicrobial activity of the probiotic strain as a reduction in mean generation time of the probiotic and zone of clearance against test organisms was observed when grown on inulin as the sole carbon source. On administering either the inulin, Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis 420 or their combination to adult albino mice, a significant increase in the fecal bifidobacterial counts and decrease in fecal coliform and clostridial counts compared to the control group were observed. Among the different treatments the combined administration of inulin and Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis 420 has resulted in highest numerical increase in fecal bifidobacterial count and reduction in fecal coliform and clostridial counts. The synergistic effect between inulin and Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis 420 was most prominent against coliforms as a significant reduction in their counts was observed on combined administration of the synbiotic rather than administering either of them alone. Our study exposes the possibilities of exploiting this combination of inulin and Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis 420, as a potential synbiotic pair. However, human volunteer trials with placebo control and blind coded samples are to be conducted to reach a final conclusion as it is the ultimate way to demonstrate the beneficial effects on human health.