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Individualized Reconstitution of Human Milk Microbiota: A Feasible Approach in Real-World Settings
Published on: February 7, 2025
Breast milk as the gold standard for protective nutrients
1Department of Nutrition, Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA. allan_walker@hms.harvard.edu
The Journal of Pediatrics
|January 29, 2010
Summary
Breast milk provides essential nutrients and actively develops infant immunity, offering protection against infectious gastroenteritis. It also contains anti-inflammatory components that regulate the newborn
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Pediatrics
- Nutrition
Background:
- Breast milk is recognized as the optimal source of nutrition for newborns.
- Infant gut immunity is immature and prone to excessive inflammation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the protective effects of breast milk against infectious gastroenteritis in infants.
- To explore how breast milk composition and components support infant immune development and reduce inflammation.
Main Methods:
- Review of clinical evidence on breast milk's protective effects.
- Analysis of breast milk composition and its impact on infant host defenses.
- Identification of specific anti-inflammatory components in breast milk.
Main Results:
- Breast milk composition dynamically adapts to infant needs for passive immunity.
- Breast milk components stimulate the development of infant intestinal host defenses.
- Key breast milk components like TGF-beta, IL-10, erythropoietin, and lactoferrin exhibit anti-inflammatory effects.
Conclusions:
- Breast milk offers robust protection against infectious gastroenteritis in newborns.
- Breast milk actively promotes the maturation of infant immune responses, including anti-inflammatory mechanisms.
- Components in breast milk are crucial for establishing long-term mucosal protection and managing neonatal inflammation.
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