阅读说明：本技术 预防疾病的合生素组合物 (Synbiotic composition for preventing diseases ) 是由 E·*** C·J·P·凡林波特 A·欧斯汀 A·R·奥泽尔 J·科诺尔 M·米施克 于 2018-06-29 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明涉及生命早期摄入合生素而预防以后生命中的胰岛素抵抗或低度慢性炎症。(The present invention relates to the early intake of synbiotic in life to prevent insulin resistance or low-grade chronic inflammation later in life.)

1. A nutritional composition comprising a combination of Bifidobacterium breve (Bifidobacterium breve) and indigestible oligosaccharides for use in preventing and/or reducing the risk of hyperinsulinemia, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes mellitus and/or low-grade chronic inflammation later in life in a human subject by administering the nutritional composition to the human subject early in life.

2. The nutritional composition for use according to claim 1, wherein the early in life is 0 to 36 months of age, more preferably 0 to 12 months of age, in the human subject.

3. The nutritional composition for use according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the later life is the age of the human subject is above 5 years, more preferably above 18 years.

4. The nutritional composition for use according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the human subject is exposed to or growing in an obese environment and/or after an infancy period consumes a fat-enhancing and saturated fatty acid-enhancing western style diet wherein the fat contributes more than 35% of the total calories of the diet and the saturated fatty acid contributes more than 10% of the total calories of the diet.

5. Nutritional composition for use according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the human subject is an infant at risk selected from the group consisting of a preterm infant, an infant of less gestational age, an infant of greater gestational age, an infant born from an overweight or obese mother, an infant born from a mother with type 2 diabetes or gestational diabetes, an infant born by caesarean section and an infant receiving or having received antibiotic treatment.

6. Nutritional composition for use according to any of the preceding claims for use in preventing and/or reducing the risk of low-grade chronic inflammation later in life.

7. Nutritional composition for use according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the bifidobacterium breve is bifidobacterium breve M-16V.

8. Nutritional composition for use according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the non-digestible oligosaccharides are selected from the group consisting of fructooligosaccharides, galactooligosaccharides and combinations thereof.

9. The nutritional composition for use according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the nutritional composition is an infant or follow-on formula or a toddler formula, more preferably an infant or follow-on formula.

10. Nutritional composition for use according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the nutritional composition comprises 10⁴To 10¹²cfu bifidobacterium breve per gram dry weight of the nutritional composition and 0.25 to 20 wt.% of non-digestible oligosaccharides based on dry weight of the nutritional composition.

11. Nutritional composition for use according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the nutritional composition comprises 10⁴To 10¹²cfu bifidobacterium breve per gram dry weight of the nutritional composition and 0.25 to 20 wt.% based on the dry weight of the nutritional composition of non-digestible oligosaccharides selected from the group consisting of galactooligosaccharides and fructooligosaccharides and mixtures thereof.

12. Use of a combination of bifidobacterium breve and non-digestible oligosaccharides for the manufacture of a nutritional composition for preventing and/or reducing the risk of hyperinsulinemia, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes mellitus and/or low-grade chronic inflammation later in life in a human subject by administering the nutritional composition to the human subject early in life.

13. A method of preventing and/or reducing the risk of hyperinsulinemia, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes mellitus and/or low-grade chronic inflammation later in life in a human subject by administering a nutritional composition comprising a combination of bifidobacterium breve and a non-digestible oligosaccharide.

Technical Field

The present invention is in the field of infant nutritional compositions, aimed at preventing diseases later in life.

Background

Breast feeding is the preferred method of feeding infants. It has been suggested that breast feeding early in life may affect the development of disease later in life. However, there are circumstances that make breast feeding impossible or undesirable. In those cases, infant formula and follow-on formula are a good choice. Modern infant compositions or follow-on formulas have been greatly modified in such a way that it meets many of the special nutritional requirements of rapidly growing and developing infants.

There is still an improvement in the constitution of infant milk formulas. Compared to breast-fed infants, infant formula-fed infants become obese, develop metabolic health disorders later in life, and are at increased risk of insulin resistance or acquiring type 2 diabetes. Early in life, feeding has a long-lasting planning effect on the risk of this disease in adulthood. These diseases are major health problems in the western world and also major preventable causes of death in the world, with increasing morbidity in adults and children, which authorities believe is one of the most serious public health problems in the 21 st century. According to WHO's data, the number of diabetes has increased from 1.08 billion in 1980 to 4.22 billion in 2014, the global prevalence of diabetes in adults over 18 years of age has increased from 4.7% in 1980 to 8.5% in 2014, and WHO predicts that diabetes will be the seventh leading cause of death in 2030 in 2012. Previously, type 2 diabetes was primarily a disease of middle aged and elderly people, but the age of onset has now declined, and type 2 diabetes has been reported in adolescents and children around the world.

WO 2006/091103 describes a composition comprising Bifidobacterium (Bifidobacterium) and two indigestible oligosaccharides for stimulating the intestinal flora of human milk fed infants.

WO 2007/073194 describes a composition comprising a lipid component comprising linoleic acid and α -linoleic acid, and a protein and digestible carbohydrate component to prevent obesity later in life.

WO 2011/096808 describes a composition comprising sialic acid oligosaccharides and a live bacteroides species (bacteroides) to reduce the risk of overweight or obesity in later life of the infant.

US 9,480,670 discloses a nutritional composition comprising high amounts of arachidonic acid (ARA), particularly for infants under the age of 3 years, and for reducing the risk of developing overweight/obesity and/or insulin resistance later in life.

Disclosure of Invention

The inventors have surprisingly found that supplementation of a combination of Bifidobacterium breve (Bifidobacterium breve) and indigestible oligosaccharides in the diet early in life may provide benefits later in life when using animal models. In particular, it was found that after exposure to a high calorie and high fat western diet later in life, the glucose homeostasis was improved, thereby reducing insulin levels, improving insulin sensitivity, and reducing low-grade chronic inflammation, as compared to a control group not receiving such dietary intervention and challenged with a western diet.

The inventors found in a mouse model that planning infants in this way could make them better resistant to risks associated with western diets. When the infant received a diet supplemented with a combination of bifidobacterium breve and non-digestible oligosaccharides early in life, it was found that insulin levels and the index calculated using the assessment homeostasis model, insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), were lower and plasma proinflammatory cytokine levels were lower, closer compared to healthy controls not exposed to the western diet. Surprisingly, in the group receiving only indigestible oligosaccharides and no bifidobacterium breve, no such effect or a much smaller effect was observed. Thus, co-administration of bifidobacterium breve and non-digestible oligosaccharides during infancy is particularly suitable for the later improvement of hyperinsulinemia, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes and/or low-grade chronic inflammation.

Drawings

FIG. 1 shows plasma markers of glucose homeostasis after early life nutritional intervention data mean. + -. SEM. p.ltoreq.0.05, ＊＊ p.ltoreq.0.01 systemic markers of glucose homeostasis models assessment of insulin resistance, HOMA-IR (A), glucose (B), insulin (C), amylin (D), gastric inhibitory polypeptide, GIP (E) and pancreatic polypeptide, PP (F).

SYN: group received bifidobacterium breve and indigestible oligosaccharides early in life and then western diet 42-98 days. G/F: the group that received the indigestible oligosaccharides in early life and then received western style diet on days 42-98. CTR: group that did not receive bifidobacterium breve and indigestible oligosaccharides early in life and then western diet on days 42-98. REF: a control group fed on a standard diet, with no nutritional intervention early in life or with no western-style dietary challenge later in life.

Data are mean ± SEM p ≦ 0.05, ＊＊ p ≦ 0.01. systemic markers of inflammation, IL-1 α (a), IL-10(B), IL-15(C), IFN- γ (D), TNF- α (E) (IL ═ interleukin; IFn ═ interferon; TNF ═ tumor necrosis factor).

SYN: group receiving bifidobacterium breve and indigestible oligosaccharides early in life and then western diet on days 42-98. G/F: the group received non-digestible oligosaccharides early in life and then received a western style diet on days 42-98. CTR: the group received no bifidobacterium breve and indigestible oligosaccharides early in life and then western diet on days 42-98. REF: a control group fed on a standard diet, with no nutritional intervention early in life or no western-style dietary challenge later in life.

Detailed Description

The present invention therefore relates to a method for preventing and/or reducing the risk of hyperinsulinemia, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes mellitus and/or low-grade chronic inflammation later in life in a human subject by administering a nutritional composition comprising a combination of bifidobacterium breve and non-digestible oligosaccharides.

In one embodiment, the method is a non-medical method of preventing and/or reducing the risk of hyperinsulinemia, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes mellitus and/or low degree chronic inflammation later in life in a human subject by administering a nutritional composition comprising a combination of bifidobacterium breve and non-digestible oligosaccharides.

The present invention may also be expressed as the use of a combination of bifidobacterium breve and non-digestible oligosaccharides for the manufacture of a nutritional composition for preventing and/or reducing the risk of hyperinsulinemia, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes mellitus and/or low-grade chronic inflammation later in life in a human subject by administering the nutritional composition early in the life of the human subject.

The present invention may also be expressed as a nutritional composition comprising a combination of bifidobacterium breve and non-digestible oligosaccharides for use in preventing and/or reducing the risk of hyperinsulinemia, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes mellitus and/or low-grade chronic inflammation later in life in a human subject by administering the nutritional composition early in life of the human subject.

Bifidobacterium breve (Bifidobacterium breve)

The nutritional composition according to the method or use of the invention, hereinafter also referred to as (nutritional) composition of the invention, comprises bifidobacterium breve. It was found that the presence of bifidobacterium breve (b.breve) together with indigestible oligosaccharides favorably influences later-life insulin sensitivity and inflammatory states. Bifidobacterium breve is a gram-positive, anaerobic, mycobacterial bacterium. Bifidobacterium breve preferably has at least 95% identity, more preferably at least 97% identity, to the 16S rRNA sequence of a type strain of Bifidobacterium breve ATCC 15700 (Stackelbandt & Goebel, 1994, int.J.Syst.Bacteriol.44: 846-849). Preferred strains of Bifidobacterium breve are isolated from the faeces of healthy human milk-fed infants. Typically, these bacteria are commercially available from producers of lactic acid bacteria, but they can also be isolated, identified, characterized and produced directly from feces. According to a preferred embodiment, the composition of the invention comprises at least one bifidobacterium breve selected from: bifidobacterium breve Bb-03(Rhodia/Danisco), Bifidobacterium breve M-16V (Morinaga), Bifidobacterium breve R0070(Institute Rosell, Lallemand), Bifidobacterium breve BR03(Probiotical), Bifidobacterium breve BR92(Cell Biotech), DSM 20091, LMG 11613, YIT4065, FERM BP-6223, and CNCM I-2219. Most preferably the Bifidobacterium breve is selected from Bifidobacterium breve M-16V and Bifidobacterium breve CNCM I-2219, most preferably the Bifidobacterium breve is M-16V. Bifidobacterium breve I-2219 is published in WO 2004/093899 and US 7,410,653 and was deposited by Compensie Gervais Danone at Pasteur institute, Paris, France, 5/31 1999, national collections of Microorganisms (Collection Nationale de Cultures de Microorganisms, institute Pasteur, Paris, France). Bifidobacterium breve M-16V was deposited as BCCM/LMG23729 and was available commercially from Morinaga Milk industry Co., Ltd.

The composition of the invention preferably comprises living bifidobacterium breve. The composition of the present invention preferably comprises 10⁴To 10¹²Colony forming units (cfu) Bifidobacterium breve/gram dry weight of the nutritional composition of the invention, preferably 10⁴To 10¹¹More preferably 10⁵To 10¹⁰Most preferably 10⁶To 1x10⁹cfu Bifidobacterium breve/g of a dried form of the composition of the inventionAnd (4) heavy. Preferably, the composition of the present invention comprises 10⁴To 10¹³cfu Bifidobacterium breve/100 ml, more preferably 10⁶To 10¹¹cfu Bifidobacterium breve/100 ml, most preferably 10⁷To 10¹⁰cfu Bifidobacterium breve/100 ml. In the context of the present invention, it is to be understood that the nutritional composition preferably does not comprise other probiotics, and thus probiotics other than bifidobacterium breve are preferably excluded from the nutritional composition according to the method or use of the present invention.

Indigestible oligosaccharides

The nutritional composition according to the method or use of the invention comprises non-digestible oligosaccharides (NDO). The term "oligosaccharide" as used in the present invention preferably refers to saccharides having a Degree of Polymerization (DP) of 2 to 250, preferably a DP of 2 to 100, more preferably 2 to 60. It is understood that in the context of the present invention a range of saccharides may comprise a mixture of saccharides having different average DP, for example if an oligosaccharide having a DP between 2 and 100 is included in a composition of the invention it may comprise a composition comprising oligosaccharides having an average DP between 2 and 5, an average DP between 50 and 70 and an average DP between 7 and 60. The term "indigestible oligosaccharide" as used herein refers to an oligosaccharide which is not or only partially digested in the intestinal tract by the action of acids or digestive enzymes present in the human upper digestive tract (small intestine and stomach) but which is fermented by the human intestinal flora. For example, sucrose, lactose, maltose and maltodextrin are considered digestible. For example, galacto-oligosaccharides, fructo-oligosaccharides are considered indigestible oligosaccharides.

Preferably, the non-digestible oligosaccharides are soluble. The term "soluble" as used herein when referring to an oligosaccharide means that the oligosaccharide is soluble according to the method described in L.Prosky et al, J.Assoc.off.Anal.chem.71, 1017-.

The non-digestible oligosaccharides are preferably selected from the group consisting of fructooligosaccharides, galactooligosaccharides, glucooligosaccharides, arabinooligosaccharides, mannooligosaccharides, xylooligosaccharides, fucooligosaccharides, arabinogalactoligosaccharides, glucomannooligosaccharides, galactomannooligosaccharides, sialic acid-containing oligosaccharides and uronic acid oligosaccharides.

Preferably, the composition of the invention comprises fructooligosaccharides and/or galactooligosaccharides, more preferably galactooligosaccharides, most preferably galactooligosaccharides transgalactooligosaccharides. In a preferred embodiment, the composition comprises a mixture of galacto-oligosaccharides and fructo-oligosaccharides. Preferably, the present composition comprises galacto-oligosaccharides with a DP between 2 and 10, preferably an average DP between 2 and 10 and/or fructooligosaccharides with a DP between 2 and 60, preferably an average DP between 10 and 60, preferably an average DP between 15 and 60, preferably an average DP between 20 and 60. The presence of indigestible oligosaccharides in these preferred embodiments will have an improved effect in the later life of preventing or reducing the risk of insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes and/or low-grade chronic infection.

The galacto-oligosaccharides are preferably selected from galacto-oligosaccharides. In a particularly preferred embodiment, the method of the invention comprises administration of galacto-oligosaccharides ([ galactose ] galactose)]_n-glucose; wherein n is an integer from 1 to 60, i.e. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,..., 59, 60; preferably n is selected from 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 or 10). Trans-galacto-oligosaccharides (TOS), for example under the trade mark Vivinal^TM(Borculo Domo Ingredients, Netherlands.) preferably, the galacto-oligosaccharide saccharide is β -linked.

The term "fructooligosaccharide" as used herein refers to an indigestible polysaccharide comprising at least 2 chains of β linked fructose units, with a DP of 2 to 250, preferably 7 to 100, more preferably 20 to 60 inulin is preferably used

(Orafti) is commercially available the average DP of the fructooligosaccharides of the invention is preferably at least 7, more preferably at least 10, preferably less than 100 the fructooligosaccharides used preferably have (mostly) fructose units linked by an β (2 → 1) linkage other terms of fructooligosaccharides include inulin, fructopolysaccharides (fructicosaccharide), polyfructose (polyfruct)tose), fructans and fructooligosaccharides. The composition of the invention preferably comprises fructooligosaccharides with a DP of 2 to 200.

In a preferred embodiment, the composition of the invention comprises two or more non-digestible carbohydrates which differ in monosaccharide unit composition, or differ in Degree of Polymerisation (DP), or both. The two non-digestible carbohydrates differ in monosaccharide composition when there is a difference of at least 30% by number, more preferably at least 50% by number, in monosaccharide composition, based on the total number of monosaccharide units. For example, there was a 75% difference in the amount of galacto-oligosaccharide having an average composition of Glu-Gal3 and fructo-oligosaccharide having an average composition of Glu-Fru 3. If the difference in average DP of the two carbohydrates is more than 5 monosaccharide units, preferably more than 10 units, even more preferably more than 15 units, the two indigestible carbohydrates differ in DP. For example, hydrolyzed inulin with an average DP of 4 and long-chain inulin with an average DP of 25 differ by 21 units in DP.

Preferably, the composition of the invention comprises galacto-oligosaccharides with an average DP between 2 and 10 and fructo-oligosaccharides with an average DP between 10 and 60. Preferably, the composition of the invention comprises fructooligosaccharides with an average DP between 2 and 10 and fructooligosaccharides with an average DP between 15 and 60. Preferably, the composition of the invention comprises galacto-oligosaccharides with an average DP between 2 and 10 and fructo-oligosaccharides with an average DP between 2 and 10. In these preferred embodiments, the presence of non-digestible oligosaccharides will have an improved effect on preventing or reducing the risk of developing insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes and/or low-grade chronic inflammation later in life.

Preferably, the composition of the invention comprises galacto-oligosaccharides and fructo-oligosaccharides in a weight ratio of 20: 0.5, more preferably 20: 1, most preferably 12: 2.

Preferably, the present composition comprises 80mg to 2g non-digestible oligosaccharides per 100ml, more preferably 150mg to 1.50g/100ml, even more preferably 300mg to 1g/100 ml. The composition preferably comprises 0.25 to 20 wt.%, more preferably 0.5 to 10 wt.%, even more preferably 1.5 to 7.5 wt.% non-digestible oligosaccharides based on dry weight.

Preferably, the composition of the present invention comprises 10⁴To 10¹²cfu Bifidobacterium breve/gram dry weight and 0.25 to 20 wt.% non-digestible oligosaccharides based on dry weight, more preferably 10⁵To 10¹⁰cfu bifidobacterium breve/gram dry weight and 0.5 to 10 wt.% indigestible oligosaccharides based on dry weight. Preferably, the composition of the invention does not comprise a probiotic other than bifidobacterium breve.

Preferably, the composition of the present invention comprises 10⁴To 10¹³cfu Bifidobacterium breve and 80mg to 2g indigestible oligosaccharides per 100ml, more preferably 10⁶To 10¹¹cfu Bifidobacterium breve and 300mg to 1g indigestible oligosaccharides per 100 ml. Preferably, the composition of the invention does not comprise probiotics other than bifidobacterium breve.

Preferably, the present composition comprises i)1x10⁵cfu to 1x10¹⁰cfu Bifidobacterium breve/g dry weight, more preferably 1X10⁶cfu to 1x10¹⁰cfu; and ii) 0.5 to 20 wt.% galacto-oligosaccharide based on dry weight, more preferably 0.5 to 10 wt.% galacto-oligosaccharide or iii) 0.05 to 2 wt.% fructo-oligosaccharide based on dry weight, more preferably 0.1 to 1 wt.% fructo-oligosaccharide or ii) and iii). Preferably, the nutritional composition of the invention does not comprise probiotics other than bifidobacterium breve.

Nutritional composition

The nutritional composition according to the method or use of the invention is preferably particularly suitable for providing daily nutritional needs to human subjects below 36 months of age, in particular to human subjects below 24 months of age, even more preferably to human subjects below 18 months of age, most preferably to infants below 12 months of age. Thus, the nutritional composition is intended to be fed or to be fed to a human subject. The present composition preferably comprises a lipid, protein and digestible carbohydrate component, wherein the lipid component preferably provides 30 to 60% of the total calories, the protein component preferably provides 5 to 20%, more preferably 5 to 15% by weight of the total calories and the digestible carbohydrate component preferably provides 25 to 75% of the total calories. Preferably, the present composition comprises a lipid component providing 35 to 50% of the total calories, a protein component providing 6 to 12% of the total calories, a digestible carbohydrate component providing 40 to 60% of the total calories. The total amount of calories is determined by the sum of calories from protein, lipids and digestible carbohydrates.

The composition of the present invention is not human breast milk. The composition of the present invention preferably comprises vegetable lipids. The composition of the invention preferably comprises other components such as vitamins and minerals as indicated in accordance with international infant formulae. The nutritional composition is preferably an infant, follow-on or toddler formula, more preferably an infant or follow-on formula.

Preferably, the nutritional composition does not comprise lactic acid bacteria. A reduction of lactic acid bacteria was found in people who received bifidobacterium breve and non-digestible oligosaccharides early in life and had an improved effect in preventing or reducing the risk of insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes and/or low chronic inflammation.

In one embodiment, the composition of the present invention is a powder suitable for reconstitution with an aqueous solution (preferably water) into a liquid composition. Preferably, the composition of the invention is a powder to be reconstituted with water.

To meet the caloric requirements of the infant, the composition preferably comprises 50 to 200kcal/100ml of liquid, more preferably 60 to 90kcal/100ml of liquid, even more preferably 60 to 75kcal/100ml of liquid. This heat density ensures an optimal ratio between water and heat consumption. The osmolality of the composition of the invention is preferably between 150 and 420mOsmol/l, more preferably between 260 and 320 mOsmol/l. The purpose of hypoosmotic pressure is to reduce gastrointestinal stress. Stress can induce the formation of adipocytes.

Preferably, the composition of the invention is in liquid form and has a viscosity of less than 35mPa.s, more preferably less than 6mPa.s, e.g. in a Brookfield viscometer at 100s at 20 ℃^-1Is measured by the shear rate of (a). Suitably, the composition is in powder form, which can be reconstituted with water to form a liquid, or in liquid concentrated form, which should be diluted with water. Preferred for daily administration when the composition is in liquid formThe volume is about 80 to 2500ml, more preferably about 450 to 1000 ml/day.

Use of

Using animal models it was found that administration of a combination of bifidobacterium breve and non-digestible oligosaccharides, rather than just non-digestible oligosaccharides and no bifidobacterium breve, early in life, favorably affects parameters indicative of improved glucose homeostasis compared to a control group not receiving such dietary intervention and subjected to western dietary challenge, thereby improving insulin sensitivity and reducing low-grade chronic inflammation.

The present invention relates to a nutritional composition comprising bifidobacterium breve and non-digestible oligosaccharides for use in preventing or reducing the risk of hyperinsulinemia, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes mellitus and/or low-grade chronic inflammation later in life, preferably low-grade chronic inflammation later in life.

A significant decrease in insulin levels, Gastric Inhibitory Peptide (GIP), and plasma proinflammatory cytokine (IL-1 α and TNF- α) levels was observed after the mouse was adult and after the mouse received a western diet, as well as a decrease in HOMA-IR, amylin and Pancreatic Polypeptide (PP), and IL-10, IL-15, and IFN- γ was observed at day 98 after birth, a time point corresponding to the adult human phase, indicating that early nutrition has a beneficial effect on hyperinsulinemia, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, and/or low-grade chronic inflammation, and that the range of effects exceeds the time of actual administration.

Diabetes is a chronic disease that occurs when the pancreas is unable to produce enough insulin or when the body is unable to use the insulin it produces effectively, insulin is a hormone that regulates blood glucose, hyperglycemia, or elevated blood glucose, a common effect of uncontrolled diabetes, over time, resulting in severe damage to many of the body's systems, particularly nerves and blood vessels, type 2 diabetes (formerly known as non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus or adult onset diabetes) is caused by ineffective use of insulin by the body until recently, this type of diabetes has only occurred in adults in the past, but is now occurring more and more frequently in children, the risk factor for type 2 diabetes has been associated with insulin resistance, hyperinsulinemia or hyperinsulinemia is a condition in which the level of insulin circulating in the blood is excessive relative to the level of glucose, Insulin Resistance (IR) is a pathological condition in which cells fail to respond normally to insulin, the body produces insulin when glucose begins to be released into the blood stream from the digestion of carbohydrates in the diet, but the body's resistance (HOMA) is further evaluated to the elevated insulin resistance by the blood glucose-insulin-glucose-level (hom) and the insulin-resistance-insulin-resistance (HOMA) is used in a model for the early stage of insulin-insulin resistance.

The compositions of the invention are intended to be administered to a human subject early in life. Early in life preferably relates to the human subject being less than 36 months of age, preferably the human subject being less than 24 months of age, even more preferably the human subject being less than 18 months of age, more preferably the human subject being an infant being less than 12 months of age, most preferably the human subject being an infant being less than 6 months of age. In one embodiment, the composition of the invention is administered early in life in a healthy human subject, preferably a human subject born at term.

According to the invention, later life means that preferably the human subject is a child or preferably an adult. Preferably, later life means that the human subject is over 5 years of age, more preferably over 18 years of age. The risk of prevention or reduction in later life occurring is different from the direct preventive effect, i.e. the effect occurring at the time of nutritional intervention, as it extends its health impact further into life after stopping the intake of the nutritional composition, e.g. at least 2 years, more preferably at least 4 years, more preferably at least 15 years after stopping the administration of the formula. This later-life effect is believed to be due to a programming effect in which the organs and their metabolic capacity (e.g. adipocyte formation, pancreatic B-cell mass formation) are programmed in a critical window early in life while the human subject is still growing and developing early in life, and the effects occurring during this period produce a healthy effect later in life. Indeed, microbial transfer at 42 days postnatal had no effect on metabolic health, indicating that the critical window for mice has passed.

In a preferred embodiment, the nutritional composition comprising bifidobacterium breve and non-digestible oligosaccharides is for a human subject exposed to or growing in an obese environment and/or consuming a western style diet after an infancy period. The western-style diet is enriched in fat and saturated fatty acids, wherein fat provides more than 35% of the total calories in the diet and saturated fatty acids provide more than 10% of the total calories in the diet. The term "adipogenic environment" refers to an environment that promotes weight gain at home or at work as well as an environment that is not conducive to weight loss (Swinburn et al, 1999, Prev Med 29: 563-. In other words, an obese environment refers to an environment that promotes, induces, helps or contributes to obesity. The factors contributing to this situation are urbanization, which is often accompanied by a reduction in physical activity and easy access to food. In one embodiment, the nutritional composition is particularly beneficial to infants exposed to an environment where the average diet is a western style diet having increased or high fat and increased or highly saturated fatty acids, wherein the fat provides more than 35% of the total calories in the diet and the saturated fatty acids provide more than 10% of the total calories in the diet, more particularly the following western style diet characterized by the inclusion of fat providing from 35% to 45% of the total calories in the diet and the inclusion of saturated fatty acids providing from 10% to 20% of the total calories in the diet.

In a preferred embodiment, the human subject is at risk of developing a disease associated with impaired lipid metabolism or impaired liver health later in life. Thus, the human subject is preferably selected from the group consisting of a preterm infant, an infant less than gestational age, an infant more than gestational age, an infant born from an overweight or obese mother, an infant born from a mother with type 2 diabetes or diabetes of pregnancy, an infant born by caesarean section and an infant being or having been treated with an antibiotic.

In this document and in the claims hereof, the verb "to comprise" and its conjugations is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. Furthermore, the indefinite article "a" or "an" when referring to a certain element does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be one and only one of the elements. Thus, the indefinite article "a" or "an" usually means "at least one".