Orafti Active Food Ingredients has launched a long-term study to look at the effects of prebiotic infant formulas supplemented with BeneoSynergy1 on the development of the neonatal immune system and the incidence of allergy in infants. The study is part of the EARNEST project, an EU-funded initiative aimed at assessing the importance of early nutrition on the modulation of adult disease risk.

Prebiotic ingredients such as inulin and oligofructose selectively stimulate the growth and activity of endogenous bifidobacteria and lactobacilli, thus improving gut health and modulating immune response. Therefore, inulin and oligofructose are expected to play an important role in lowering immune responses toward an allergy-like phenotype, a role that the EARNEST Project aims to explore further.

The new study investigates the effect of the prebiotic Beneo-
Synergy1 (oligofructose-enriched inulin) in infants with a family history of atopic disease. From birth and throughout the first year of life, high-risk infants included in the study receive infant formula that is either supplemented with BeneoSynergy1 (0.8 g/100 ml) or is without any supplementation (control group). These infants will also be followed during their second year and the overall health and well-being of the infants will be assessed and the composition of their intestinal microbial flora compared. A battery of immunological markers from different body samples will also be measured at given time points throughout the study. Clinical outcomes of allergy will be carefully monitored throughout the study and in further follow-up. The study will be concluded in 2010.

For further information: 973-359-4444.