The administration of currently evaluated prebiotic-supplemented formulae to healthy infants does not raise safety concerns with regard to growth and adverse effects .
Some favourable clinical effects are possible , primarily stool softening , which may be beneficial in some infants .
Currently , there is no existing robust evidence to recommend the routine use of prebiotic-supplemented formulae .
In 2011 , the Committee on Nutrition of the European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology , Hepatology and Nutrition systematic ally review ed published evidence related to the safety and health effects of the administration of formulae supplemented with pro- and /or prebiotics compared with unsupplemented formulae .
Infant formula with galacto-oligosaccharides (OM55N) stimulates the growth of indigenous bifidobacteria in healthy term infants.
The objective of the study was to investigate whether an infant formula supplemented with galacto-oligosaccharides ( GOS ; OM55N ) was able to stimulate the growth of indigenous bifidobacteria and to establish microbiota similar to that of breastfed infants . A r and omised , double-blind , placebo-controlled trial was performed using 35 healthy term infants ( 31 - 54 days of age ; 42±6 days ) to determine whether infant formula with 0.3 g/dl GOS ( OM55N ) stimulated the growth of bifidobacteria in the infants ' guts . At the trial onset and 2 weeks after , the infants ' faecal sample s were examined for microbiota composition ( bacterial abundance and α-diversity ) and faecal characteristics . Among the 35 infants , 5 were withdrawn and 8 were excluded from the final evaluation before breaking the blinding since the indigenous bifidobacteria were not detected at the trial onset . After 2 weeks , the abundance of Bifidobacteriaceae was significantly increased in the GOS feeding group compared to the control ( + 11.6±24.1 % vs -3.9±13.0 % ; P=0.043 ) . The Shannon index , which accounts for both abundance and evenness of the present species , was significantly decreased with GOS supplementation ( -0.1±0.4 vs + 0.4±0.4 ; P=0.014 ) . Faecal characteristics such as pH and organic acids were similar in both groups , with no statistical differences . No adverse side effects related to the formula consumption were reported . Although the concentration of GOS  was relatively low , the infant formula  with GOS increased the abundance of bifidobacteria and result ed in a reduced α-diversity of the microbiota
The administration of currently evaluated prebiotic-supplemented formulae to healthy infants does not raise safety concerns with regard to growth and adverse effects .
Some favourable clinical effects are possible , primarily stool softening , which may be beneficial in some infants .
Currently , there is no existing robust evidence to recommend the routine use of prebiotic-supplemented formulae .
In 2011 , the Committee on Nutrition of the European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology , Hepatology and Nutrition systematic ally review ed published evidence related to the safety and health effects of the administration of formulae supplemented with pro- and /or prebiotics compared with unsupplemented formulae .