Bifidobacterium breve | Supplementopedia

Overview

Bifidobacterium breve is a Gram‑positive, anaerobic, non‑spore‑forming rod that naturally inhabits the human gastrointestinal tract, especially in infants and young children. As a probiotic, it is used primarily to modulate the gut microbiome, enhancing microbial balance and supporting host physiological functions through its metabolic activities and interaction with the host immune system.

Benefits

Extensive clinical and pre‑clinical data demonstrate that B. breve confers several health benefits:

Gut health – Reduces diarrhoea duration in children (meta‑analysis, n ≈ 1 500), prevents antibiotic‑associated dysbiosis, and improves stool consistency in constipation‑predominant IBS.
Immune modulation – Enhances secretory IgA, reduces pro‑inflammatory cytokines (IL‑6, TNF‑α) and lowers incidence of respiratory infections in children (RCT, n = 200).
Metabolic support – Improves insulin sensitivity and reduces fasting glucose in adults with pre‑diabetes (randomised trial, n = 120) and attenuates weight gain in high‑fat diet mouse models.
Allergy & atopy – Early‑life supplementation lowers the risk of atopic dermatitis and food allergy sensitisation in infants.
Cognitive/behavioral – Pilot studies suggest modest improvements in attention and mood scores in children with autism spectrum disorder (small RCT, n = 30).

All effects are dose‑dependent and strongest when the strain is viable (≥10⁹ CFU per day).

How It Works

B. breve exerts its effects through several interconnected biochemical pathways:

Carbohydrate fermentation – Utilises oligosaccharides (e.g., human milk oligosaccharides, resistant starch) to produce short‑chain fatty acids (SCFAs) such as acetate and lactate, lowering colonic pH, inhibiting pathogenic bacteria, and providing energy to colonocytes.
Barrier reinforcement – SCFAs stimulate expression of tight‑junction proteins (ZO‑1, claudin‑1) via the G‑protein‑coupled receptor 43 (GPR43) pathway, strengthening intestinal permeability.
Immune signaling – B. breve’s surface‑layer proteins (SLPs) and peptidoglycan fragments interact with Toll‑like receptor 2 (TLR2) on dendritic cells, prompting regulatory T‑cell (Treg) differentiation and secretion of IL‑10.
Bile‑acid metabolism – Deconjugates bile salts via bile‑salt hydrolase activity, altering the bile‑acid pool (increased deoxycholic acid) and modulating farnesoid‑X‑receptor (FXR) signaling, which influences lipid metabolism and glucose homeostasis.

Collectively, these actions modulate the gut–brain–immune axis and metabolic pathways.

Dosage

The most commonly studied dose range for B. breve is 10⁸–10¹⁰ CFU per day in capsule or powder form. Typical regimens:

Use‑case	Typical dose	Timing	Remarks
General gut health	1 × 10⁹ CFU daily	With food (enhances survival)	Most commercial products use 1–5 × 10⁹ CFU.
Pediatric diarrhoea	5 × 10⁹ CFU (split into 2 doses)	Within 48 h of symptom onset, for 5–7 days	Evidence strongest in children 6 mo‑5 y.
Metabolic support	5–10 × 10⁹ CFU daily	Morning or with main meal	Longer‑term (≥12 weeks) needed for measurable metabolic change.
Immunomodulation (e.g., allergy prevention)	1–2 × 10⁹ CFU	Daily, preferably with a pre‑biotic (e.g., GOS)	Early‑life administration (first 6 months) yields greatest benefit.

If the product is lyophilised, reconstitute in non‑acidic liquid (e.g., water, milk) and avoid exposure to >40 °C to preserve viability.

Safety & Side Effects

B. breve is generally recognised as safe (GRAS) and well‑tolerated in healthy adults and children. Reported side‑effects are mild and transient: bloating, flatulence, or mild abdominal discomfort (≈3 % of users).

Contraindications – Patients with severe immunosuppression (e.g., chemotherapy, organ transplantation, HIV with CD4 < 200 cells/µL), central venous catheters, or critical illness should avoid probiotic supplementation unless under medical supervision.
Drug interactions – No direct pharmacokinetic interactions have been documented, but probiotics may reduce the efficacy of antifungal agents (e.g., fluconazole) in rare cases due to altered gut flora.
Special populations – Premature infants (< 32 weeks gestation) and patients with short‑bowed bowel conditions (e.g., short‑gut syndrome) require clinician‑guided dosing.
Safety data – Multiple RCTs (total n > 5 000) have shown no increase in adverse events versus placebo; no cases of bacteremia attributable to B. breve have been reported in immunocompetent cohorts.

Chemistry

Bifidobacterium breve is a living bacterial cell; its “chemical structure” is defined by its cellular components rather than a single molecular formula. Key features include:

Taxonomy – Bifidobacterium spp.; Gram‑positive, non‑motile, anaerobic, rod‑shaped.
Cell wall – Thick peptidoglycan layer (type A), teichoic acids, and surface‑layer proteins (SLPs) that mediate host interaction.
Genome – ~2.1 Mbp circular chromosome, ~1 900 genes; GC content ≈ 60 %.
Metabolic enzymes – β‑galactosidase, lactate dehydrogenase, and bile‑salt hydrolase; produce SCFAs (acetate, lactate).
Surface molecules – Lipoteichoic acids, capsular polysaccharides (CPS), and exopolysaccharides (EPS) that influence immunogenicity.

Because the probiotic is delivered as a viable culture, quality metrics focus on CFU count, viability (percentage of live cells), and absence of contaminants (e.g., coliforms, yeasts).

Sources & Quality

B. breve strains used in supplements are isolated from human infant feces, breast‑milk, or the adult colon, where the species is naturally abundant. Commercial production follows these steps:

Isolation & strain selection – Isolation of a specific strain (e.g., B. breve BB‑02, B. breve UCC2003) followed by genome sequencing to confirm identity and absence of antibiotic‑resistance genes.
Fermentation – Large‑scale anaerobic fermentation in a controlled bioreactor (pH ≈ 6.5, 37 °C) using defined carbohydrate substrates (e.g., lactose, fructooligosaccharides) to achieve high cell density.
Harvest & lyophilisation – Cells are harvested, washed, and freeze‑dried with cryoprotectants (e.g., trehalose) to preserve viability.
Quality control – Viable count (CFU), strain purity (PCR‑based), and absence of pathogens are verified per pharmaco‑peptidic standards (e.g., USP <1210>).

For optimal efficacy, choose products that disclose the strain designation, CFU at the end of shelf‑life, and third‑party testing for microbial contaminants and potency.