TABLE 4.
Fecal microbiota analyzed by qPCR before and after 3 wk of consuming a wheat-based instant cereal containing 3.6 mg iron as ferrous fumarate without or with 2 doses of prebiotics (3.0 or 7.5 g of galacto-oligosaccharides and fructo-oligosaccharides, ratio 9:1).
| Fe alone | Fe + 3 g Prebiotics | Fe + 7.5 g Prebiotics | Time | Group | Time by group | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n | 60 | 61 | 52 | |||
| Eubacteria, log gene copies/g feces | ||||||
| Baseline | 10.180 (9.714, 10.491) | 10.166 (9.775, 10.3999) | 10.015 (9.607, 10.202) | 0.554 | 0.027 | 0.797 |
| End point | 10.108 (9.806, 10.360) | 10.121 (9.739, 10.541) | 9.905 (9.588, 10.203) | |||
| Bifidobacterium spp., log gene copies/g feces | ||||||
| Baseline | 9.611 (9.068, 10.028) | 9.657 (9.285, 10.071) | 9.480 (9.143, 10.028) | 0.139 | 0.75 | 0.857 |
| End point | 9.535 (9.076, 10.029) | 9.599 (8.964, 10.114) | 9.396 (9.119, 9.834) | |||
| Lactobacillus/Pediococcus/Leuconostoc spp. log gene copies/g feces | ||||||
| Baseline | 8.489 (7.664, 8.873) | 8.289 (7.822, 9.106) | 8.792 (7.981, 9.425) | 0.551 | 0.118 | 0.692 |
| End point | 8.388 (7.903, 8.953) | 8.535 (7.946, 9.033) | 8.637 (8.105, 8.927) | |||
| Enterobacteriaceae spp, log gene copies/g feces | ||||||
| Baseline | 8.308 (7.891, 8.935) | 8.271 (7.684, 8.699) | 8.298 (7.778, 8.904) | 0.266 | 0.022 | 0.079 |
| End point | 8.468 (7.992, 8.934) | 8.263 (7.730, 8.794) | 7.873 (7.352, 8.338) | |||
| Campylobacter spp., log gene copies/g feces | ||||||
| Baseline | 7.989 (6.274, 8.690) | 7.471 (6.166, 9.050) | 7.047 (5.962, 8.432) | 0.259 | 0.159 | 0.665 |
| End point | 8.432 (6.967, 9.392) | 9.011 (6.826, 9.493) | 7.172 (6.170, 8.937) | |||
| Salmonella spp., log gene copies/g feces | ||||||
| Baseline | 2.420 (1.845, 2.874) | 2.519 (2.095, 3.287) | 2.325 (1.770, 2.990) | 0.341 | 0.074 | 0.844 |
| End point | 2.102 (1.760, 2.828) | 2.513 (1.857, 2.929) | 2.258 (1.840, 3.356) | |||
| Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC), log gene copies/g feces | ||||||
| Baseline | 7.103 (6.203, 8.523) | 6.812 (6.050, 8.150) | 6.728 (5.301, 8.131) | 0.531 | 0.551 | 0.801 |
| End point | 7.040 (5.924, 8.120) | 7.013 (5.963, 8.188) | 7.070 (5.523, 7.862) | |||
| Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC), log gene copies/g feces | ||||||
| Baseline | 4.142 (2.929, 6.078) | 3.833 (3.228, 6.061) | 3.940 (3.098, 5.985) | 0.437 | 0.982 | 0.854 |
| End point | 4.135 (3.134, 7.317) | 4.762 (3.505, 6.407) | 4.027 (3.149, 6.385) | |||
| Clostridium difficile, log gene copies/g feces | ||||||
| Baseline | 6.327 (3.270, 7.998) | 6.657 (4.412, 7.790) | 5.913 (3.570, 7.864) | 0.286 | 0.001 | 0.239 |
| End point | 6.584 (3.836, 7.660) | 7.592 (6.282, 8.310) | 5.857 (3.301, 6.795) | |||
| Clostridium perfringens, log gene copies/g feces | ||||||
| Baseline | 5.817 (4.379, 6.694) | 5.918 (4.429, 6.884) | 5.665 (4.590, 7.037) | 0.706 | 0.812 | 0.634 |
| End point | 6.025 (4.595, 7.019) | 5.465 (4.521, 6.627) | 5.572 (4.452, 6.377) | |||
| Summed variable of all pathogens, log gene copies/g feces | ||||||
| Baseline | 8.874 (8.319, 9.304) | 8.654 (8.113, 9.137) | 8.485 (8.008, 9.152) | 0.216 | <0.001 | 0.09 |
| End point | 8.999 (8.510, 9.557) | 8.762 (8.265, 9.224) | 8.194 (7.425, 8.749) | |||
Data are presented as median (IQR). Linear mixed-effects models: fixed effects on the variance as time, group, time-by-group age; the random structure was defined as the subject. Significance was set as P < 0.05.