Human milk oligosaccharides

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Human milk oligosaccharides (HMO, also human milk glycans ) are sugar molecules from the group of oligosaccharides that are found in high concentrations only in human breast milk .

Occurrence

Human milk oligosaccharides formed by fats and lactose the third largest portion of "fixed" components (the water- dissolved or emulsified or suspended present) human breast milk. They are available in a concentration of 10–25 g / L. Around 200 structurally different human milk oligosaccharides are known. The composition of the human milk oligosaccharides in breast milk is individual for each mother and varies over the period of breastfeeding . The dominant oligosaccharide in 80% of all women is 2'-fucosyllactose , which is contained in human breast milk in a concentration of around 2.5 g / L.

properties

Unlike the other components of human milk that are received through breastfeeding, HMOs themselves for the newborn child indigestible . However, they have a prebiotic effect , i.e. H. they serve as food for intestinal bacteria, especially for bifidobacteria . The dominance of these intestinal bacteria reduces the colonization of the intestine by pathogenic bacteria ( probiosis ). In this way, they ensure a healthy intestinal flora (intestinal microbiome) and reduce the risk of dangerous intestinal infections.

More recent studies also indicate that HMOs also significantly reduce the risk of viral and bacterial infectious diseases and thus reduce the risk of diarrhea and respiratory diseases. This protective function relates to pathogens , such as certain bacteria or viruses , which bind to the glycan receptors (receptors for multiple sugars on the surface of human cells) located on the surface of the intestinal cells and can then attack the cells of the intestinal mucosa . Researchers have found that HMOs mimic these glucan receptors, causing the pathogens to attach to the HMOs instead of to the intestinal cells. This reduces the risk of infection by pathogens.

In addition, HMOs appear to influence the responses of certain cells of the immune system in such a way that inflammatory responses are minimized. It is also believed that HMOs reduce the risk of developing premature infants with potentially life-threatening necrotizing enterocolitis (NEK).

Some of the metabolites have a direct effect on the nervous system or in the brain and can, in some cases, have a long-term effect on the development and behavior of children. There are studies showing that certain HMOs provide the child with residual sialic acid. Sialic acid is an essential nutrient for the development of the child's brain and for the development of the child's intellectual abilities.

HMOs are used as supplements in baby food so that babies who are not breastfed can also be fed.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e L. Bode: Human milk oligosaccharides: every baby needs a sugar mama. In: Glycobiology. Volume 22, number 9, September 2012, pp. 1147–1162, doi : 10.1093 / glycob / cws074 , PMID 22513036 , PMC 3406618 (free full text)
  2. ↑ X. Chen: Human Milk Oligosaccharides (HMOS): Structure, Function, and Enzyme-Catalyzed Synthesis. In: Advances in carbohydrate chemistry and biochemistry. Volume 72, 2015, pp. 113-190, doi : 10.1016 / bs.accb.2015.08.002 , PMID 26613816 .
  3. ↑ a b Katja Parschat, Bettina Gutiérrez: Human milk oligosaccharides produced by fermentation have a prebiotic effect. In: dei - the food industry . November 2016, p. 38 .
  4. ↑ K. Le Doare, B. Holder, A. Bassett, PS Pannaraj: Mother's Milk: A Purposeful Contribution to the Development of the Infant Microbiota and Immunity. In: Frontiers in immunology. Volume 9, 2018, p. 361, doi : 10.3389 / fimmu.2018.00361 , PMID 29599768 , PMC 5863526 (free full text).
  5. ^ A b D. S. Newburg, Y. He: Neonatal Gut Microbiota and Human Milk Glycans Cooperate to Attenuate Infection and Inflammation. In: Clinical obstetrics and gynecology. Volume 58, number 4, December 2015, pp. 814-826, doi : 10.1097 / GRF.0000000000000156 , PMID 26457857 .
  6. ↑ Ralph Ammann: Achieving the impossible . In: European Dairy Magazine . May 2017, p. 30th f .