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The Relationship Between Breast Milk Components and the Infant Gut Microbiota

Gaëlle Boudry1, Elise Charton1,2, Isabell Le Huerou-Luron1

  • 1Institut NuMeCan, INRAE, INSERM, Univ Rennes, Saint-Gilles, France.

Frontiers in Nutrition
|April 8, 2021
PubMed

Insights

Early life gut microbiota assembly is crucial for infant health. Human milk components and maternal diet can be modulated to promote a healthy infant gut microbiome, offering a window of opportunity for long-term health programming.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Human Physiology
  • Nutritional Science

Background:

  • The infant gut microbiota develops rapidly in early life, influencing long-term health outcomes.
  • Early microbial colonization is sensitive to environmental factors, presenting a critical window for health interventions.
  • Breastfeeding is linked to a healthier infant gut microbiome, suggesting a role for human milk components.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the composition of human milk.
  • To discuss the influence of human milk components on infant gut microbiota establishment.
  • To examine how maternal diet impacts milk composition and, consequently, the infant gut microbiota.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of human milk composition.
  • Analysis of studies on the effects of milk components on microbial growth.
  • Review of research on maternal diet and its effect on human milk.

Main Results:

  • Human milk contains numerous bioactive components that modulate infant gut microbiota.
  • Specific milk components can selectively promote beneficial bacteria or inhibit pathogens.
  • Maternal diet significantly influences human milk composition, offering a pathway to shape infant microbiota.

Conclusions:

  • Human milk composition plays a vital role in shaping the infant gut microbiota.
  • Modulating maternal diet is a feasible strategy to optimize human milk for infant gut health.
  • Targeting the early life window through nutrition can program long-term host health via the gut microbiome.

Keywords:
gut microbiotamaternal dietmilk bacteriamilk lipidsmilk oligosaccharides

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