The Effect of Infant Formulas With 4 or 8 g/L GOS/FOS on Growth, Gastrointestinal Symptoms, and Behavioral Patterns: A Prospective Cohort Study

Karina Merini Tonon; Thaís Moreno Tomé; Elaine Martins Bento Mosquera; Natália Pratis Perina; Tamara Lazarini

doi:10.1177/2333794X211044115

The Effect of Infant Formulas With 4 or 8 g/L GOS/FOS on Growth, Gastrointestinal Symptoms, and Behavioral Patterns: A Prospective Cohort Study

Glob Pediatr Health. 2021 Sep 7:8:2333794X211044115. doi: 10.1177/2333794X211044115. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Karina Merini Tonon¹, Thaís Moreno Tomé², Elaine Martins Bento Mosquera², Natália Pratis Perina², Tamara Lazarini²

Affiliations

¹ Independent Researcher, Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil.
² Nestlé Brazil LTDA, Sao Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.

Abstract

There is a lack of studies investigating the clinical benefits of prebiotic-supplemented infant formula. In this study, healthy infants that started, on medical recommendation, artificial feeding with one of 2 infant formulas containing 4 g/L of GOS/FOS (9:1) (IF4 group; n = 60) or 8 g/L of GOS/FOS (9:1) (IF8 group; n = 60) were followed for 30 days to the evaluation of growth and gastrointestinal symptoms. Exclusively breastfed infants (EBF; n = 60) were followed up as a reference. Both infant formulas supported adequate weight gain, however, IF4 formula promotes growth more similar to breastfed infants. There was no additional benefit of a dose higher than 4 g/L of GOS/FOS on gastrointestinal symptoms.

Keywords: infant formula; prebiotics; stool consistency; stool frequency; weight gain.