Characterization of gut microbiota and short-chain fatty acid in breastfed infants with or without breast milk jaundice

This study aims to investigate the gut microbiota and metabolites in breastfed infants with breast milk jaundice (BMJ) using gut microbiome-metabolomics. Breastfed newborns diagnosed with BMJ and those without BMJ (control group) were enrolled. Faecal samples were collected from the participants and subjected to high-throughput sequencing of the 16s rDNA V3 and V4 regions of the gut flora and metabolomics of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs).Proteobacteria, FimicutesandActinobacteriawere the main bacteria at the phylum level.Eshcerichia-ShigellaandEnterobacteriaceawere the main bacteria at the genus level. The difference between the two groups was compared. Compared to the control group, the amount ofStreptococcuswas significantly increased while the amount ofEnterococcuswas significantly decreased in the faeces from infants with BMJ. Functional prediction analysis of 16S found that biosynthesis of penicillin and cephalosporin significantly increased in the BMJ group. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry detection of SCFAs revealed that levels of acetic acid and propionic acid were significantly lower in the BMJ group than in the control group. The reduced levels of acetic acid and propionic acid may be related to the increase inStreptococcusand decrease inEnterococcus, both of which may contribute to BMJ.