Fermented foods having a sufficient stability and an excellent flavor as foods to be taken orally are produced by using a bifidobacterium belonging to Bifidobacterium catenulatum or Bifidobacterium pseudocatenulatum which has never been employed in foods so far. These fermented foods containing a bifidobacterium are obtained by fermenting a medium containing soybean milk as the main component by using a bifidobacterium selected from Bifidobacterium catenulatum and Bifidobacterium pseudocatenulatum.

The present invention relates to compositions to be administered to infants delivered via caesarian section and in particular to the use of a) at least two different microorganisms; or b) at least one microorganism and at least one indigestible oligosaccharide; or c) at least two, preferably three, different Bifidobacteria species, subspecies or strains for the manufacture of a composition for enteral administration to an infant delivered via caesarean section. Thereby it is possible to stimulate the healthy development of the intestinal flora of said infants.

The present invention relates to the Bifidobacterium CECT 7765 strain, to its cell components, metabolites, and secreted molecules, to the combinations thereof with other microorganisms, and to compositions comprising the aforementioned products, as well as to the use of a strain of the Bifidobacterium pseudocatenulatum species, or to using the CECT 7765 strain for the prevention and/or treatment of obesity, overweight, hyperglycemia and diabetes, preferably type 2 diabetes mellitus, hepatic steatosis or fatty liver, dyslipidemia, metabolic syndrome, immune system dysfunction associated with obesity and overweight; and an unbalanced composition of the intestinal microbiota associated with obesity and overweight.

The present invention relates to methods for feeding and to compositions to be administered to infants delivered via caesarian section and in particular to the use of a) at least two different microorganisms; or b) at least one microorganism and at least one indigestible oligosaccharide; or c)at least two different Bifidobacteria species, subspecies or strains for the manufacture of a composition for enteral administration to an infant delivered via caesarean section. Thereby it is possible to stimulate the healthy development of the intestinal flora of said infants.

A conjugated fatty acid such as the cis-9, trans-11 isomer of conjugated linoleic acid having high bioactivities is selectively and efficiently produced by conjugating an unsaturated fatty acid having at least two double bonds with the use of viral cells, dead cells or a cell extract of at least one bacterium selected from the group consisting of Lactobacillus oris, Lactobacillus pontis, Lactobacillus panis, Bifidobacterium breve, Bifidobacterium bifidum, Bifidobacterium infantis and Bifidobacterium pseudocatenulatum, or an enzyme derived from the bacterium.

Nineteen strains of Lactobacillus, 2 strains of Lactococcus, 1 strain of Pediococcus, 4 strains of Propionibacterium and 23 strains of Bifidobacterium were screened for their ability to produce conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) from linoleic acid. Of these, 7 strains of Bifidobacterium, as well as 2 strains of Propionibacterium produced the cis-9, trans-11 CLA isomer from linoleic acid. In contrast, strains of Lactobacillus, Lactococcus and Pediococcus lacked the ability to synthesise CLA. CLA (cis-9, trans-11 isomer) production by the genus Bifidobacterium was shown to exhibit considerable interspecies variation, with B. breve and B. dentium being the most efficient producers among the strains tested, yielding up to 65 % conversion of linoleic acid to CLA at linoleic acid concentrations of 0.2-1.0 mg/ml in MRS medium. The growth of B. breve strains was inhibited by increasing concentrations of linoleic acid. Viability of B. breve 2257 was unaffected in the presence of up to 0.5 mg/ml linoleic acid for 48 h but was dramatically reduced to 1.5% survival at 1 mg/ml linoleic acid. However, viability of the B. breve strains NCFB2258, NCTC 11815, NCIMB 8815 and NCIMB 8807 was reduced to < 60 % at linoleic acid concentrations of 0.2 mg/ml. These data suggest that certain strains of bifidobacteria may have applications to elevate CLA content of food products and CLA status in humans.