Prebiotics and Probiotics in Human Milk

Origins and Functions of Milk-Borne Oligosaccharides and Bacteria

Michelle McGuire, Mark A McGuire, Lars Bode

• Publisher: Academic Press
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN: 9780128027257
• eBook ISBN: 9780128027462
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Nutrition, Dietics & Bariatrics
• Index: Technology & Engineering

Prebiotics and Probiotics in Human Milk: Origins and Functions of Milk-Borne Oligosaccharides and Bacteria provides a comprehensive, yet approachable, treatise on what is currently known about the origins and functions of human milk oligosaccharides (HMO), the complex sugars in milk that are not digested by the infant.The book examines how HMOs and bacteria in human milk may function independently and coordinately to influence both maternal and infant health. Human milk is the only food "designed specifically to nourish humans, indeed representing the essence of a perfect "functional food. And although researchers have been studying its composition for decades, surprisingly little is really understood about the origins and functions of its myriad components, an area that is especially true for HMOs and bacteria.This book provides a thorough review of the newest research on these inter-related milk constituents as written by a team of experts from both academia and industry who actively conduct HMO and human milk microbiome research as they endeavor to apply this new knowledge to infant nutrition. Each chapter provides objective rationale for what research is still needed in this rapidly evolving area, also discussing the challenges and opportunities faced by the industry in adding HMO and microbes to infant food products.This book is a valuable resource for nutrition researchers focused on infant nutrition, food scientists and product developers working on infant formula, and clinicians interested in broadening their understanding of the benefits of human milk for infants.- Presents a reader-friendly, highly-curated text that includes a review of the literature related to origins, variability, metabolism, and functions of HMO and human milk bacteria- Discusses the potential implications of HMO and milk microbiota to industry – for instance, utilization in the dairy industry and infant formula- Consists of learning aids, such as pull quotes, critical summary statements, and an extensive list of published literature throughout

Section A

Background, Structures, Synthesis, and Analysis

Outline

Chapter 1. From Bifidus Factor to Human Milk Oligosaccharides: A Historical Perspective on Complex Sugars in Milk

Chapter 2. Structures, Classification, and Biosynthesis of Human Milk Oligosaccharides

Chapter 3. Oligosaccharides in the Milk of Other Mammals

Chapter 4. Analytical Methods to Characterize Human Milk Oligosaccharides

Chapter 1

From Bifidus Factor to Human Milk Oligosaccharides

A Historical Perspective on Complex Sugars in Milk

Clemens Kunz¹, and Heinz Egge^{2 1}Institute of Nutritional Science, Justus-Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany ²(Formerly) Institute of Physiological Chemistry, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany

Abstract

The discovery of Lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria and their relevance for health and disease was an important milestone leading to a decrease in infant mortality during the first year of life. At the same time, pediatricians realized that the composition of feces of breastfed and bottle-fed infants differ from each other. Observations indicated that this difference was linked to milk carbohydrates. Around 1930, a human milk carbohydrate fraction called “gynolactose” was identified. This was the starting point of research on human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs). In the following years, the first HMOs were characterized and their functions investigated. Studies after 1950 focused on the identification of various HMOs as the “bifidus factor” in human milk. During the next 30 years, a tremendous amount of research was done with regard to the characterization of individual HMOs and HMO patterns in human milk. In this introduction to the history of Bifidobacteria and HMO research, pioneering contributions to this field are presented.

Keywords

Bifidobacteria; HMO history; Human milk oligosaccharides; Infant nutrition; Lactobacillus bifidus

1. Background

1.1. Discovery of the Importance of Microorganisms for Health and Disease and Pioneers in This Research Area

The health situation around the turn of the 19th century was characterized by an alarmingly high mortality rate ranging from 20% to 30% in the first year of life. Infants were fed pure carbohydrates, processed food, and mixtures of milk and cereals with or without added meat, or they were given native animals’ milk (Nützenadel, 2010). One of the first infant formulas consisting of modified bovine milk was developed by Justus von Liebig (1803–70) for his daughter’s children and the monograph “Soup for Infants” (“Kindersuppe”) published in 1864 (Liebig, 1866). It was based on the use of milk and cereals. This soup for infants led to many others also producing infant formula to improve the overall health of infants. It was Liebig who provided a scientific basis for nutritional investigations in this area of research through his technical and analytical innovations. However, at the beginning the alternative products to human milk were not very successful. This is not surprising as it was possible only later, when scientific innovations were available; was possible only later, when scientific innovations were available to perform the first balance studies (Carl von Voit, 1881), to analyze nitrogen by the method developed by Johann Kjeldahl (1883) and to determine the energy content of food (Max Rubner, 1889).

A major breakthrough for infant survival was the discovery of microorganisms and their importance to health and, at the same time, the observation that milk carbohydrates play an important role for the growth of these microorganisms. Pioneering microbiological work has been done by Theodor Escherich, one of the most respected pediatricians in Europe at that time (Table 1.1) (Weirich and Hoffmann, 2005). In 1886, Escherich had published a monograph on the relationship between intestinal bacteria and the physiology of digestion in the infant (Escherich, 1886). This research had established him as the leading bacteriologist in pediatrics.

“Pediatrics” was just beginning to develop into an independent medical field, and in Europe (e.g., in Vienna, Graz, Zurich, Berlin and Munich), the first pediatrics professorships and chairs were established and were held by internationally esteemed personalities, among them Adalbert Czerny, the author of the textbook Des Kindes Ernährung (The Child’s Nutrition) which became for a long time one of the leading books in this area. The tremendous impact of this book in pediatrics at that time was summarized in 1933 in a Festschrift by Heinrich F. Helmholt...

Table of contents

• Cover image
• Title page
• Table of Contents
• Copyright
• Contributors
• Preface
• Section A. Background, Structures, Synthesis, and Analysis
• Section B. Potential Functions and Benefits
• Section C. Challenges and Opportunities
• Section D. Background, Methods, Origin, and Interpretation
• Section E. Human Milk Microbes and Health
• Section F. Challenges and Opportunities
• Index