Scientists have discovered that important 'good' bacteria arrive in babies' digestive systems from their mother's gut via breast milk.
Although this does confirm that when it comes to early establishment of gut and immune health, 'breast is best', a greater understanding of how babies acquire a population of good bacteria can also help to develop formula milk that more closely mimics nature.
The study, published today (22 August) in Environmental Microbiology, which is a journal of the Society for Applied Microbiology (SfAM), was led by Professor Christophe Lacroix at the Institute for Food, Nutrition and Health, ETH-Zurich, Switzerland.
Professor Lacroix said "We are excited to find out that bacteria can actually travel from the mother's gut to her breast milk.
"A healthy community of bacteria in the gut of both mother and baby is really important for baby's gut health and immune system development."
The Zurich team found the same strains of Bifidobacterium breve and several types of Clostridium bacteria, which are important for colonic health, in breast milk, and maternal and/or neonatal faeces. Strains found in breast milk may be involved in establishing a critical nutritional balance in the baby's gut and may be important to prevent intestinal disorders.
Professor Lacroix continued "We're not sure of the route the bacteria take from gut to breast milk but, we have used culture, isolation, sequencing and fingerprinting methods to confirm that they are definitely the same strains."
Future research will hopefully complete the picture of how bacteria are transferred from mother to neonate. With a more thorough knowledge, we can decide which bacterial species will be most important as probiotics in formula. But until then, for neonates at least, the old adage is true, breast is best.
Explore further: Unraveling the scientific basis of the infant feeding axiom 'breast is best'
More information: Vertical mother-neonate transfer of maternal gut bacteria via breast-feeding. Ted Jost, Christophe Lacroix, Christian P. Braegger, Florence Rochat and Christophe Chassard. Environmental Microbiology, Accepted Articles, DOI: 10.1111/1462-2920.12238
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Scientists have discovered that important 'good' bacteria arrive in babies' digestive systems from their mother's gut via breast milk.
Although this does confirm that when it comes to early establishment of gut and immune health, 'breast is best', a greater understanding of how babies acquire a population of good bacteria can also help to develop formula milk that more closely mimics nature.
The study, published today (22 August) in Environmental Microbiology, which is a journal of the Society for Applied Microbiology (SfAM), was led by Professor Christophe Lacroix at the Institute for Food, Nutrition and Health, ETH-Zurich, Switzerland.
Professor Lacroix said "We are excited to find out that bacteria can actually travel from the mother's gut to her breast milk.
"A healthy community of bacteria in the gut of both mother and baby is really important for baby's gut health and immune system development."
The Zurich team found the same strains of Bifidobacterium breve and several types of Clostridium bacteria, which are important for colonic health, in breast milk, and maternal and/or neonatal faeces. Strains found in breast milk may be involved in establishing a critical nutritional balance in the baby's gut and may be important to prevent intestinal disorders.
Professor Lacroix continued "We're not sure of the route the bacteria take from gut to breast milk but, we have used culture, isolation, sequencing and fingerprinting methods to confirm that they are definitely the same strains."
Future research will hopefully complete the picture of how bacteria are transferred from mother to neonate. With a more thorough knowledge, we can decide which bacterial species will be most important as probiotics in formula. But until then, for neonates at least, the old adage is true, breast is best.
Explore further: Unraveling the scientific basis of the infant feeding axiom 'breast is best'
More information: Vertical mother-neonate transfer of maternal gut bacteria via breast-feeding. Ted Jost, Christophe Lacroix, Christian P. Braegger, Florence Rochat and Christophe Chassard. Environmental Microbiology, Accepted Articles, DOI: 10.1111/1462-2920.12238
Medical Xpress on facebook
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Unraveling the scientific basis of the infant feeding axiom 'breast is best'
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Scientists are making strides toward unraveling the surprisingly complex chemistry underpinning that axiom of infant feeding "breast is best," according to an article in the current edition of Chemical & Engineering News. C&EN i ...
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Feb 29, 2012
Adding prebiotic ingredients to infant formula helps colonize the newborn's gut with a stable population of beneficial bacteria, and probiotics enhance immunity in formula-fed infants, two University of Illinois studies report.
Breast milk promotes a different gut flora growth than infant formulas
Aug 27, 2012
The benefits of breast milk have long been appreciated, but now scientists at Duke University Medical Center have described a unique property that makes mother's milk better than infant formula in protecting infants from ...
Breast-fed babies' gut microbes contribute to healthy immune systems
May 21, 2012
A new multi-university study reports that differences in bacterial colonization of the infant gut in formula-fed and breast-fed babies lead to changes in the expression of genes involved in the infant's immune system.
Human breast milk microbiome changes over time
Jan 28, 2013
(HealthDay)—The microbiome of breast milk is influenced by many factors, including maternal weight and how the baby was delivered, according to research published in the American Journal of Clinical Nu ...
Recommended for you
Half of all UK seven year olds not exercising for recommended minimum
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Half of all UK seven year olds are sedentary for six to seven hours every day, and only half clock up the recommended daily minimum of moderate to vigorous physical activity, indicates research published in the online journal ...
Stronger nicotine dependence correlates with higher post-smoking weight gain
1 hour ago
Smokers with more severe nicotine dependence are more likely to gain weight when they try to quit, according to research published August 21 in the open access journal PLOS ONE by Koji Hasegawa and colleagues from Kyoto ...
Ideal BP for kidney disease patients may be 130-159/70-89
3 hours ago
(HealthDay)—In patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), optimal blood pressure (BP) seems to be 130 to 159/70 to 89 mm Hg, according to a study published in the Aug. 20 issue of the Annals of Internal Me ...
Drug swap drives down costs
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