Christophe Lacroix

TL;DR: Immobilization of probiotic cultures in whey protein-based microcapsules can increase cell survival when subjected to extreme conditions, making this approach potentially useful for delivery of viable bacteria to the gastrointestinal tract of humans via dairy fermented products.

TL;DR: In this article, the effect of high and low dose in-home iron fortification on the infant gut microbiome and intestinal inflammation was determined by double-blind randomised controlled trials in 6-month-old Kenyan infants.

TL;DR: Anemic African children carry an unfavorable ratio of fecal enterobacteria to bifidobacteria and lactobacilli, which is increased by iron fortification, and this profile is associated with increased gut inflammation.

TL;DR: It is shown that (viable) obligate gut-associated anaerobes may be vertically transferred from mother to neonate via breastfeeding, which supports the recently suggested hypothesis of a novel way of mother-neonate communication, in which maternal gut bacteria reach breast milk via an entero-mammary pathway to influence neonatal gut colonization and maturation of the immune system.

TL;DR: It is suggested that breast milk may be a major source of bacterial diversity to the neonatal gut, including gut-associated obligate anaerobes, and may thus significantly influence gut colonisation and maturation of the immune system.