Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 15, 2025
Probiotic Studies in Neonatal Mice Using Gavage
Published on: January 27, 2019
Effects of pregnancy and lactation prebiotics supplementation on infant allergic disease: A randomized controlled
Debra J Palmer1, Alana R Cuthbert2, Thomas R Sullivan3
1Telethon Kids Institute, The University of Western Australia, Nedlands, Australia; School of Medicine, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Australia.
Insights
Maternal prebiotic supplementation during pregnancy and lactation did not significantly reduce infant eczema risk in a randomized trial. This dietary strategy showed no benefit for preventing allergic diseases in high-risk infants.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Nutritional Science
- Pediatrics
Background:
- Maternal prebiotic intake during pregnancy and lactation may modulate the infant immune system.
- This could potentially lower the incidence of allergic diseases in infants.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if maternal prebiotic supplementation reduces allergic outcomes in infants with a hereditary predisposition.
- The study aimed to assess the impact on medically diagnosed infant eczema, allergen sensitization, food allergy, and recurrent wheeze.
Main Methods:
- A double-blind randomized controlled trial involved pregnant women consuming prebiotics (galacto- and fructo-oligosaccharides) or placebo from early gestation until 6 months postpartum.
- Infants were monitored for allergic outcomes, primarily medically diagnosed eczema by age 1 year.
Main Results:
- No significant difference in the incidence of medically diagnosed infant eczema by age 1 year was observed between the prebiotic and placebo groups (31.5% vs 32.6%).
- Secondary allergic outcomes and safety measures also showed no significant differences between the groups.
Conclusions:
- Maternal prebiotic supplementation during pregnancy and lactation provided little evidence of reducing medically diagnosed infant eczema by age 1 year.
- The findings suggest this dietary intervention may not be effective in preventing allergic disease in infants with a hereditary risk.
Background:
Ingestion of prebiotics during pregnancy and lactation may have immunomodulatory benefits for the developing fetal and infant immune system and provide a potential dietary strategy to reduce the risk of allergic diseases.
Objective:
We sought to determine whether maternal supplementation with dietary prebiotics reduces the risk of allergic outcomes in infants with hereditary risk.
Methods:
We undertook a double-blind randomized controlled trial in which pregnant women were allocated to consume prebiotics (14.2 g daily of galacto-oligosaccharides and fructo-oligosaccharides in the ratio 9:1) or placebo (8.7 g daily of maltodextrin) powder from less than 21 weeks' gestation until 6 months postnatal during lactation. Eligible women had infants with a first-degree relative with a history of medically diagnosed allergic disease. The primary outcome was medically diagnosed infant eczema by age 1 year, and secondary outcomes included allergen sensitization, food allergy, and recurrent wheeze by age 1 year.
Results:
A total of 652 women were randomized between June 2016 and November 2021 (329 in the prebiotics group and 323 in the placebo group). There was no significant difference between groups in the percentage of infants with medically diagnosed eczema by age 1 year (prebiotics 31.5% [103 of 327 infants] vs placebo 32.6% [105 of 322 infants]; adjusted relative risk, 0.98; 95% CI, 0.77-1.23; P = .84). Secondary outcomes and safety measures also did not significantly differ between groups.
Conclusions:
We found little evidence that maternal prebiotics supplementation during pregnancy and lactation reduces the risk of medically diagnosed infant eczema by age 1 year in infants who are at hereditary risk of allergic disease.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
01:22Development of Immunocompetence
The initial cells that migrate from the fetal thymus settle within the skin and epithelial tissues lining the mouth, digestive tract, and in females, the uterus and vagina. These cells, including skin-based dendritic cells, serve as antigen-presenting cells, playing a key role in T cell activation.
Subsequent T...
01:21Drugs for Treatment of Constipation-Predominant IBS
01:23Anatomy of the Intestines
Small Intestines
The small intestine is an ~7 meter-long tube with an inner diameter of just 2.5 cm. Since most nutrients are absorbed here, the inner lining of the...
01:23Upper Respiratory Drugs: Antitussives, Expectorants, and Mucolytics
Antitussives include codeine, dextromethorphan (Robitussin), and benzonatate (Tessalon). Codeine and dextromethorphan exert their effects centrally by suppressing the cough reflex center in the medulla. Benzonatate operates peripherally within the respiratory tract by...
01:15Transcytosis of IgG
IgG molecules from a mother undergo transcytosis starting around 13 weeks of gestation. The amount of IgG transferred and entering the fetal blood circulation increases with...
01:30Inflammatory Bowel Disease III: Diagnostic Studies and Management I-Nutritional Therapy
Diagnostic studies
A colonoscopy is the definitive screening test, distinguishing ulcerative colitis from other colon diseases with similar symptoms. During a colonoscopy test, inflamed mucosa with exudate ulcerations can be observed, and biopsies are taken to determine the histologic characteristics of the...