Faecal Short-chain Fatty Acid and Early Introduction of Foods in the First 200 Days of Infant’s Life in the District of Abidjan (Ivory Coast)

Dosage of short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) according to food diet showed that the content of acetate was high in newborn feaces. Infants receiving food supplements have a complex and diverse gut microbiota. Moreover, the results show that infants from poor districts have an abundant concentration of SCFAs in their faeces compared to those living in places with a relatively high standard of living. Among infants receiving milk, the highest proportion of SCFA is acetate in breastfed infants (BF) at a rate of 15.025 ± 2.23 μmol/g, followed by propionate in infants receiving mixed feeding (BF+FF), at a rate of 13.58 ± 1.03 μmol/g and butyrate in infants taking mixed feeding at a rate of 0.32 ± 0.72 μmol/g. However, among infants starting early diet diversification, acetate is higher in infants receiving milk formula and diet diversification (FF+FD) with a concentration of 25.4 ± 0 μmol/g, followed by propionate (2.36 ± 0 μmol/g) in infants receiving mixed feeding (BF+FF) and butyrate in those fed with (BF+FD). Partial breastfeeding is associated with a higher proportion of acetate, butyrate and propionate. The study of the correlation between the different SCFAs produced and the ASV (Variants of Microbial Amplicon Sequences) of the intestinal community of the child, shows that acetate is positively correlated with Bifidobacterium and negatively with Streptococcus and Escherichia-Shigella. Propionate is positively correlated with Bifido bacterium and negatively with Escherichia-Shigella. Similarly, butyrate is positively correlated with Bifidobacterium and negatively with Escherichia-Shigella