Pregnant women who take probiotics tend to have a different composition of complex sugars in breastmilk they produce, reveals research from the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC). The composition of the sugars present in breast milk is long believed to be fixed, but the recent study showed contradicting findings.
The finding, published in a research letter in JAMA Pediatrics, upends what scientists thought of human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) -- the sugar molecules found exclusively in human breast milk -- and could lead to future studies on how the compounds can be potentially influenced by diet and other factors.
Probiotics - Support System for the Gut
Probiotics are live microorganisms that resemble the "good bacteria" in our gut. Science is yet to fully explore the healing potential of probiotics; meanwhile some studies have ruled in their favor.
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‘Human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) have a role to play in the development of food allergies in infants. Manipulating the composition of HMO could provide a new platform in the prevention of food allergies.’
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Though HMOs are indigestible for a newborn child, they are consumed by certain species in the microbiome and can significantly affect its composition. As a result, scientists have begun focusing on HMOs as a possible reason that infants who consume breastmilk are less likely to get certain viral and bacterial infections, and other severe conditions such as necrotizing enterocolitis, along with allergic diseases like food allergy.
"HMOs were thought to be genetically determined, almost like your blood type," said Antti Seppo, Ph.D., research associate professor of Pediatric Allergy/Immunology at URMC and the letter's lead author. "But this data shows you can manipulate the HMOs by external factors."
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"We thought the interaction between HMOs and the microbiome was a one-way street, with HMOs shaping microbial communities by acting as prebiotics," said Lars Bode, Ph.D., associate professor of Pediatrics at the University of California San Diego, who co-authored the letter. "Here, we have the first example suggesting that maternal dietary microbes, in the form of probiotics, shape HMO compositions."
The study analyzed data from 81 pregnant women who were enrolled in a probiotic supplementation study in Finland. The researchers then compared 20 different HMOs in the two groups of women -- those taking probiotics and those that were not.
Future studies could potentially look at the effect of specific types of probiotics and food groups on specific HMOs, allowing for customization and clinical application tailored to optimize HMO composition in a disease specific way.
"Because HMOs may be linked to development of food allergies in an infant, manipulating HMO composition favorably could open up a new avenue for prevention of food allergies," said Kirsi Jarvinen-Seppo, M.D., Ph.D., chief of the Division of Pediatric Allergy/Immunology at URMC and senior co-author on the paper.
Source: Eurekalert
Health Benefits of Kombucha Tea
Kombucha tea is a fermented beverage that provides an array of health benefits. Know how to prepare and store kombucha tea and discover its side-effects.
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"We thought the interaction between HMOs and the microbiome was a one-way street, with HMOs shaping microbial communities by acting as prebiotics," said Lars Bode, Ph.D., associate professor of Pediatrics at the University of California San Diego, who co-authored the letter. "Here, we have the first example suggesting that maternal dietary microbes, in the form of probiotics, shape HMO compositions."
The study analyzed data from 81 pregnant women who were enrolled in a probiotic supplementation study in Finland. The researchers then compared 20 different HMOs in the two groups of women -- those taking probiotics and those that were not.
Future studies could potentially look at the effect of specific types of probiotics and food groups on specific HMOs, allowing for customization and clinical application tailored to optimize HMO composition in a disease specific way.
"Because HMOs may be linked to development of food allergies in an infant, manipulating HMO composition favorably could open up a new avenue for prevention of food allergies," said Kirsi Jarvinen-Seppo, M.D., Ph.D., chief of the Division of Pediatric Allergy/Immunology at URMC and senior co-author on the paper.
Source: Eurekalert
Health Benefits of Probiotic Yogurt Diet
Probiotic yogurt adds bountiful of beneficial bacteria to the intestinal tract which prove to be effective in aiding digestive problems.
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