3. Use in pediatrics

In 2003, AFSSA concluded that: "the shift to bifidobacteria dominance during the first week after birth seems well established for breast-fed infants", and validated the fact that prebiotics "increase fecal concentration in infant and follow-on formulas". In the same report, she confirmed that prebiotics decrease stool pH and increase fecal water excretion, the effects depending "on the dose and molecular size of the prebiotic substances".

The maximum recommended doses are 0.8 g per 100 mL of ready-to-use product of a mixture containing 10% FOS – 90% GOS. These concentrations were adopted by the European directive 2006/141/EC, then finally by...