The CV values for reproducibility and repeatability of the
different assays ranged between 0.04 and 0.14 (Table 4).
Lactobacilli in fecal samples from the intervention study.
The levels of the different Lactobacillus species in fecal samples
of breast-fed infants and infants receiving a standard formula
or a standard formula supplemented with GOS/FOS
were determined with the duplex 5 nuclease assays. The number
of lactobacilli as a percentage of the total bacteria is shown
in Fig. 2. At the start of the study the percentages of lactobacilli
in the OSF and SF group were not statistically different (0.8%
0.3% and 0.5% 0.3%, respectively). After 6 weeks of intervention,
at the end of the study period, the percentage of
lactobacilli in the OSF group (4.4% 1.4%) was significantly
higher (P 0.019) than in the SF group (0.4% 0.2%).
Furthermore, there was a statistically significant increase in the
percentages lactobacilli during the study period in the OSF
group (0.8% 0.3% at the start versus 4.4% 1.4% at the
end [P 0.026]) and the BF group (0.8% 0.3% at start
versus 4.1% 1.5% at the end [P 0.034]).