Effect of prebiotics on growth of bifidobacterium bifidum

The aim of the present study was to identify suitable prebiotics for multiplicating representative probiotics from the bifidobacterium genera. Six different types of prebiotics were screened for their effects on the growth of B. bifidum. The addition of prebiotics (v/v) was 0.20%, 0.40%, 0.60%, 0.80%, and 1.0%. Growth of cultures was studied by measuring optical density, pH and viable count using MRS media as the control. The results showed that three kinds of oligosaccharides and inulin(as polysaccharide) could promote the growth of B. bifidum. The optimum concentration of fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS) and xylo-oligosaccharides (XOS) in MRS media was 0.40%, which was higher than inulin(0.20%)and lower than Galacto-oligosaccharide(GOS) (0.60%). Besides this, two other kinds of oligosaccharides (IMO and stachyose) have almost no effect on growth of B. bifidum BB01. The results of this study indicate that several prebiotics can enhance the growth of this representative probiotic strains in vitro.