ESPE Abstracts

Background: The relationship between probiotic supplementation and puberty onset has not been explored.

Objective: To investigate the effects of probiotics oral intake during childhood on the gut microbiota when puberty onset in lactating female mice.

Method: Feeding female mice with probiotic suspension of Bifidobacterium longum, Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus from postnatal 21 days for 7 days, observed the time of Vulva opening. The mice were sacrificed on vaginal opening day. Fecal samples were collected from each mouse for the first 3 days of VO, mixed, and tested for 16s rDNA and short-chain fatty acids respectively.

Result: The alpha-diversity analysis showed the Simpson and Good’s coverage index were higher in probiotic (Pro) group, and there was no difference in beta-diversity index. LEfSe analysis showed the Pro mice had members of the phylum Verrucomicrobia, genera Akkermansia and Klebsiella were significantly higher than Control mice. The Pro mice had members of the phylum Bacteroidetes, genus Prevotella, Bilophila, Sutterella, and Oscillospira, that were significantly lower than the Control mice (P>0.05). The level of caproic acid in Pro group was significantly lower than the Con group (0.008±0.002 vs 0.011 ±0.003 mg/mg, P<0.05).

Conclusion: The multi-strain probiotic intervention given to weaned female mice showed the ability to modulate the gut microbiota composition, leading to a significant reduction of potentially harmful bacteria and an increase of beneficial ones.