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Early Human Development Nov 2015Breast milk is the perfect nutrition for infants, a result of millions of years of evolution, finely attuning it to the requirements of the infant. Breast milk contains... (Review)
Review
Breast milk is the perfect nutrition for infants, a result of millions of years of evolution, finely attuning it to the requirements of the infant. Breast milk contains many complex proteins, lipids and carbohydrates, the concentrations of which alter dramatically over a single feed, as well as over lactation, to reflect the infant's needs. In addition to providing a source of nutrition for infants, breast milk contains a myriad of biologically active components. These molecules possess diverse roles, both guiding the development of the infants immune system and intestinal microbiota. Orchestrating the development of the microbiota are the human milk oligosaccharides, the synthesis of which are determined by the maternal genotype. In this review, we discuss the composition of breast milk and the factors that affect it during the course of breast feeding. Understanding the components of breast milk and their functions will allow for the improvement of clinical practices, infant feeding and our understanding of immune responses to infection and vaccination in infants.
Topics: Breast Feeding; Female; Humans; Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; Infant, Newborn; Lactation; Lipids; Milk Proteins; Milk, Human; Oligosaccharides
PubMed: 26375355
DOI: 10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2015.08.013 -
Pediatric Clinics of North America Feb 2013This article provides an overview of the composition of human milk, its variation, and its clinical relevance. The composition of human milk is the biological norm for... (Review)
Review
This article provides an overview of the composition of human milk, its variation, and its clinical relevance. The composition of human milk is the biological norm for infant nutrition. Human milk also contains many hundreds to thousands of distinct bioactive molecules that protect against infection and inflammation and contribute to immune maturation, organ development, and healthy microbial colonization. Some of these molecules (eg, lactoferrin) are being investigated as novel therapeutic agents. Human milk changes in composition from colostrum to late lactation, within feeds, by gestational age, diurnally, and between mothers. Feeding infants with expressed human milk is increasing.
Topics: Breast Milk Expression; Dietary Fats; Dietary Proteins; Female; Humans; Infant; Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; Infant, Newborn; Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; Lactation; Lactose; Micronutrients; Milk Banks; Milk, Human; Pasteurization
PubMed: 23178060
DOI: 10.1016/j.pcl.2012.10.002 -
Nutrients Apr 2020Human breast milk is considered the optimum feeding regime for newborn infants due to its ability to provide complete nutrition and many bioactive health factors. Breast... (Review)
Review
Human breast milk is considered the optimum feeding regime for newborn infants due to its ability to provide complete nutrition and many bioactive health factors. Breast feeding is associated with improved infant health and immune development, less incidences of gastrointestinal disease and lower mortality rates than formula fed infants. As well as providing fundamental nutrients to the growing infant, breast milk is a source of commensal bacteria which further enhance infant health by preventing pathogen adhesion and promoting gut colonisation of beneficial microbes. While breast milk was initially considered a sterile fluid and microbes isolated were considered contaminants, it is now widely accepted that breast milk is home to its own unique microbiome. The origins of bacteria in breast milk have been subject to much debate, however, the possibility of an entero-mammary pathway allowing for transfer of microbes from maternal gut to the mammary gland is one potential pathway. Human milk derived strains can be regarded as potential probiotics; therefore, many studies have focused on isolating strains from milk for subsequent use in infant health and nutrition markets. This review aims to discuss mammary gland development in preparation for lactation as well as explore the microbial composition and origins of the human milk microbiota with a focus on probiotic development.
Topics: Breast Feeding; Female; Gastrointestinal Diseases; Gastrointestinal Microbiome; Humans; Infant; Infant Health; Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; Infant, Newborn; Male; Milk, Human; Probiotics
PubMed: 32283875
DOI: 10.3390/nu12041039 -
Nutrients Sep 2021Human breast milk (HBM) is not only an indispensable source of nutrients for early human growth and development, supplying components that support infant growth and... (Review)
Review
Human breast milk (HBM) is not only an indispensable source of nutrients for early human growth and development, supplying components that support infant growth and development, but also contains various essential immunologic components with anti-infectious activities and critical roles in the formation of immunity. It is also known that HBM contains its own unique microbiome, including beneficial, commensal, and potentially probiotic bacteria, that can contribute to infant gut colonization. In addition, HBM-derived extracellular vesicles, exosomes, and microRNA are attracting increasing interest for their potential to transfer to the infant and their role in infant development. In this article, we examine some of the various constituents in HBM and review the evidence supporting their associated health effects and their potential applications in human health.
Topics: Child Development; Female; Health Status; Humans; Immune System; Infant; Infant, Newborn; MicroRNAs; Microbiota; Milk, Human; Nutritive Value
PubMed: 34578971
DOI: 10.3390/nu13093094 -
FEMS Microbiology Reviews Sep 2013Here, we review what is known about the microorganisms present in raw milk, including milk from cows, sheep, goats and humans. Milk, due to its high nutritional content,... (Review)
Review
Here, we review what is known about the microorganisms present in raw milk, including milk from cows, sheep, goats and humans. Milk, due to its high nutritional content, can support a rich microbiota. These microorganisms enter milk from a variety of sources and, once in milk, can play a number of roles, such as facilitating dairy fermentations (e.g. Lactococcus, Lactobacillus, Streptococcus, Propionibacterium and fungal populations), causing spoilage (e.g. Pseudomonas, Clostridium, Bacillus and other spore-forming or thermoduric microorganisms), promoting health (e.g. lactobacilli and bifidobacteria) or causing disease (e.g. Listeria, Salmonella, Escherichia coli, Campylobacter and mycotoxin-producing fungi). There is also concern that the presence of antibiotic residues in milk leads to the development of resistance, particularly among pathogenic bacteria. Here, we comprehensively review these topics, while comparing the approaches, both culture-dependent and culture-independent, which can be taken to investigate the microbial composition of milk.
Topics: Animals; Food Safety; Food Storage; Humans; Microbiota; Milk; Milk, Human
PubMed: 23808865
DOI: 10.1111/1574-6976.12030 -
Revista Da Associacao Medica Brasileira... Sep 2016In the critical phase of immunological immaturity of the newborn, particularly for the immune system of mucous membranes, infants receive large amounts of bioactive... (Review)
Review
In the critical phase of immunological immaturity of the newborn, particularly for the immune system of mucous membranes, infants receive large amounts of bioactive components through colostrum and breast milk. Colostrum is the most potent natural immune booster known to science. Breastfeeding protects infants against infections mainly via secretory IgA (SIgA) antibodies, but also via other various bioactive factors. It is striking that the defense factors of human milk function without causing inflammation; some components are even anti-inflammatory. Protection against infections has been well evidenced during lactation against, e.g., acute and prolonged diarrhea, respiratory tract infections, including otitis media, urinary tract infection, neonatal septicemia, and necrotizing enterocolitis. The milk's immunity content changes over time. In the early stages of lactation, IgA, anti-inflammatory factors and, more likely, immunologically active cells provide additional support for the immature immune system of the neonate. After this period, breast milk continues to adapt extraordinarily to the infant's ontogeny and needs regarding immune protection and nutrition. The need to encourage breastfeeding is therefore justifiable, at least during the first 6 months of life, when the infant's secretory IgA production is insignificant.
Topics: Colostrum; Humans; Immune System; Milk, Human
PubMed: 27849237
DOI: 10.1590/1806-9282.62.06.584 -
Nutrients Mar 2021Human milk represents a cornerstone for growth and development of infants, with extensive array of benefits. In addition to exceptionally nutritive and bioactive... (Review)
Review
Human milk represents a cornerstone for growth and development of infants, with extensive array of benefits. In addition to exceptionally nutritive and bioactive components, human milk encompasses a complex community of signature bacteria that helps establish infant gut microbiota, contributes to maturation of infant immune system, and competitively interferes with pathogens. Among bioactive constituents of milk, human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) are particularly significant. These are non-digestible carbohydrates forming the third largest solid component in human milk. Valuable effects of HMOs include shaping intestinal microbiota, imparting antimicrobial effects, developing intestinal barrier, and modulating immune response. Moreover, recent investigations suggest correlations between HMOs and milk microbiota, with complex links possibly existing with environmental factors, genetics, geographical location, and other factors. In this review, and from a physiological and health implications perspective, milk benefits for newborns and mothers are highlighted. From a microbiological perspective, a focused insight into milk microbiota, including origins, diversity, benefits, and effect of maternal diet is presented. From a metabolic perspective, biochemical, physiological, and genetic significance of HMOs, and their probable relations to milk microbiota, are addressed. Ongoing research into mechanistic processes through which the rich biological assets of milk promote development, shaping of microbiota, and immunity is tackled.
Topics: Bacteria; Female; Humans; Microbiota; Milk, Human; Oligosaccharides
PubMed: 33805503
DOI: 10.3390/nu13041123 -
Nutrients Mar 2020The intestinal microbiome plays an important role in maintaining health throughout life. The microbiota develops progressively after birth and is influenced by many... (Review)
Review
The intestinal microbiome plays an important role in maintaining health throughout life. The microbiota develops progressively after birth and is influenced by many factors, including the mode of delivery, antibiotics, and diet. Maternal milk is critically important to the development of the neonatal intestinal microbiota. Different bioactive components of milk, such as human milk oligosaccharides, lactoferrin, and secretory immunoglobulins, modify the composition of the neonatal microbiota. In this article, we review the role of each of these maternal milk-derived bioactive factors on the microbiota and how this modulation of intestinal bacteria shapes health, and disease.
Topics: Anti-Bacterial Agents; Biodiversity; Breast Feeding; Female; Gastrointestinal Microbiome; Humans; Immunoglobulin A, Secretory; Infant, Newborn; Lactoferrin; Milk Proteins; Milk, Human; Nutrients; Oligosaccharides
PubMed: 32244880
DOI: 10.3390/nu12030823 -
Nutrients Mar 2021Breast milk is an unbeatable food that covers all the nutritional requirements of an infant in its different stages of growth up to six months after birth. In addition,... (Review)
Review
Breast milk is an unbeatable food that covers all the nutritional requirements of an infant in its different stages of growth up to six months after birth. In addition, breastfeeding benefits both maternal and child health. Increasing knowledge has been acquired regarding the composition of breast milk. Epidemiological studies and epigenetics allow us to understand the possible lifelong effects of breastfeeding. In this review we have compiled some of the components with clear functional activity that are present in human milk and the processes through which they promote infant development and maturation as well as modulate immunity. Milk fat globule membrane, proteins, oligosaccharides, growth factors, milk exosomes, or microorganisms are functional components to use in infant formulas, any other food products, nutritional supplements, nutraceuticals, or even for the development of new clinical therapies. The clinical evaluation of these compounds and their commercial exploitation are limited by the difficulty of isolating and producing them on an adequate scale. In this work we focus on the compounds produced using milk components from other species such as bovine, transgenic cattle capable of expressing components of human breast milk or microbial culture engineering.
Topics: Child Development; Female; Glycolipids; Glycoproteins; Humans; Infant; Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; Infant, Newborn; Lipid Droplets; Milk Proteins; Milk, Human
PubMed: 33810073
DOI: 10.3390/nu13031026 -
Nutrients May 2021Breast milk components contribute to the infant's immune development and protection, and among other immune factors, immunoglobulins (Igs) are the most studied. The... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
Breast milk components contribute to the infant's immune development and protection, and among other immune factors, immunoglobulins (Igs) are the most studied. The presence of IgA in milk has been known for a long time; however, less information is available about the presence of other Igs such as IgM, IgG, and their subtypes (IgG1, IgG2, IgG3, and IgG4) or even IgE or IgD. The total Ig concentration and profile will change during the course of lactation; however, there is a great variability among studies due to several variables that limit establishing a clear pattern. In this context, the aim of this review was firstly to shed light on the Ig concentration in breast milk based on scientific evidence and secondly to study the main factors contributing to such variability. A search strategy provided only 75 studies with the prespecified eligibility criteria. The concentrations and proportions found have been established based on the intrinsic factors of the study-such as the sampling time and quantification technique-as well as participant-dependent factors, such as lifestyle and environment. All these factors contribute to the variability of the immunoglobulinome described in the literature and should be carefully addressed for further well-designed studies and data interpretation.
Topics: Breast Feeding; Female; Humans; Immunoglobulin A; Immunoglobulin G; Immunoglobulins; Infant; Lactation; Life Style; Milk, Human; Specimen Handling
PubMed: 34073540
DOI: 10.3390/nu13061810