Impact of 2′-Fucosyllactose on Gut Microbiota Composition in Adults with Chronic Gastrointestinal Conditions: Batch Culture Fermentation Model and Pilot Clinical Trial Findings

Intestinal dysbiosis has been described in patients with certain gastrointestinal conditions including irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and ulcerative colitis. 2′-fucosyllactose (2′-FL), a prebiotic human milk oligosaccharide, is considered bifidogenic and butyrogenic. To assess prebiotic effects of 2′-FL, alone or in combination with probiotic strains (potential synbiotics), in vitro experiments were conducted on stool from healthy, IBS, and ulcerative colitis adult donors. In anaerobic batch culture fermenters, Bifidobacterium and Eubacterium rectale-Clostridium coccoides counts, and short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) including butyrate increased during fermentation with 2′-FL and some of the 2′-FL/probiotic combinations. In a subsequent open-label pilot trial, the effect of a 2′-FL-containing nutritional formula was evaluated in twelve adults with IBS or ulcerative colitis. Gastrointestinal Quality of Life Index (GIQLI) total and gastrointestinal symptoms domain scores, stool counts of Bifidobacterium and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, and stool SCFAs including butyrate, increased after six weeks of intervention. Consistent with documented effects of 2′-FL, the batch culture fermentation experiments demonstrated bifidogenic and butyrogenic effects of 2′-FL during fermentation with human stool samples. Consumption of the 2′-FL-containing nutritional formula by adults with IBS or ulcerative colitis was associated with improvements in intra- and extra-intestinal symptoms, and bifidogenic and butyrogenic effects.