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Even though HMO are a major component of human milk, present inhigher concentration than protein, many of their actions in theinfant are not well understood. Furthermore, they're virtuallyabsent from infant formula. The scientists wanted to find out whatformula-fed babies were missing. "We refer to HMO as the fiber of human milk because we don'thave the enzymes to break down these compounds. They pass into thelarge intestine where the bacteria digest them. "We're curious about the role they play in the development ofthe breast-fed infant's gut bacteria because the bacteria found inthe guts of formula-fed infants is different," said SharonDonovan, the U of I's Melissa M. Noel Endowed Professor inNutrition and Health. With this study, Donovan is gaining insight into the mystery. Forthe first time, scientists have shown that a complex mixture of HMOand a single HMO component produce patterns of short-chain fattyacids that change as the infant gets older. A healthy microbiome has both short- and long-term effects on aninfant's health. In the short term, beneficial bacteria protect theinfant from infection by harmful bacteria. In the long term,beneficial bacteria strengthen the immune system so that it canfend off chronic health problems like food allergies and asthma,she said. In the study, breast milk was obtained from mothers of preterminfants at Chicago's Rush University Medical Center, and the HMOwere isolated and analyzed. The scientists tested bacteria from 9-and 17-day-old sow-reared and formula-fed piglets. Because pigletsgrow so rapidly, these ages reflect approximately three- andsix-month-old human infants. The colon bacteria were added to test tubes containing HMO and twoprebiotics commonly used in infant formulas. These mixtures wereallowed to ferment and then sampled to see how the bacterialpopulation was changing over time and what products were beingproduced by the bacteria. "When the HMOs were introduced, the bacteria producedshort-chain fatty acids, at some cases at higher levels than otherprebiotics now used in infant formula. The short-chain fatty acidscan be used as a fuel source for beneficial bacteria and alsoaffect gastrointestinal development and pH in the gut, whichreduces the number of disease-causing pathogens," she said. Further, different HMOs produced different patterns of short-chainfatty acids, and the composition of bacteria in the gut changedover time. "It was distinctly different at 9 vs. 17 days,making it likely that the functions of HMO change as the humaninfant gets older," she said. According to Donovan, HMO are critically important in understandinghow breastfeeding protects babies. "Several companies are now able to synthesize HMO, and in thefuture, we may be able to use them to improve infant formula.There's evidence that these compounds can bind to receptors onimmune cells and, to our knowledge, no current prebiotic ingredientcan do that," she said. Funding was provided by a grant from the National Institutes ofHealth. We are high quality suppliers, our products such as Cardboard Packaging Boxes Manufacturer , Nylon Canvas Bag for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits Cell Phone Protective Film.
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