Optimal breastfeeding is a highly effective public health strategy for the reduction of infant mortality from gastroenteritis and pneumonia, especially in developing countries. Breastfeeding studies have shown the protective role of breast milk against many chronic and immune conditions, in particular, type 1 diabetes, necrotizing enterocolitis, asthma and leukemia. This article offers an overview of the protective mechanisms of mother’s milk.
Albesharat, R., Ehrmann, M.A., Korakli, M., Yazaji, S., Vogel, R.F., 2011. Phenotypic and genotypic analyses of lactic acid bacteria in local fermented food, breast milk and faeces of mothers and their babies. Systematic and Applied Microbiology 34, 148–155.
Ballard, O., Morrow, A.L., 2013. Human milk composition: nutrients and bioactive factors. Pediatric Clinics of North America 60 (1), 49–74.
Bartick, M., Reinhold, A., 2010. The burden of suboptimal breastfeeding in the United States: a pediatric cost analysis. Pediatrics 125 (5), e1048–e1056.
Bhutta, Z.A., Das, J.K., Walker, N., et al., 2013. Interventions to address deaths from childhood pneumonia and diarrhoea equitably: what works and at what cost? Lancet 381 (9875), 1417–1429.
Bode, L., Jantscher-Krenn, E., 2012. Structure-function relationships of human milk oligosaccharides. Advances in Nutrition 3 (3), 383S–391S.
Cabrera-Rubio, R., Collado, M.C., Laitinen, K., Salminen, S., Isolauri, E., Mira, A., 2012. The human milk microbiome changes over lactation and is shaped by maternal weight and mode of delivery. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 96 (3), 544–551.
Cephas, K.D., Kim, J., Mathai, R.A., Barry, K.A., Dowd, S.E., Meline, B.S., Swanson, K.S., 2011. Comparative analysis of salivary bacterial microbiome diversity in edentulous infants and their mothers or primary care givers using pyrosequencing. PLoS ONE 6, e23503.
Dieterich, C.M., Felice, J.P., O’Sullivan, E., Rasmussen, K.M., 2013. Breastfeeding and health outcomes for the mother-infant dyad. Pediatric Clinics of North America 60 (1), 31–48.
Jiménez, E., de Andrés, J., Manrique, M., Pareja-Tobes, P., Tobes, R., Martínez-Blanch, J.F., Codoñer, F.M., Ramón, D., Fernández, L., Rodríguez, J.M., 2015. Metagenomic analysis of milk of healthy and mastitis-suffering women. Journal of Human Lactation 31, 406–415.
Jiménez, E., de Andrés, J., Manrique, M., Pareja-Tobes, P., Tobes, R., Martínez-Blanch, J.F., Codoñer, F.M., Ramón, D., Fernández, L., Rodríguez, J.M., 2015. Metagenomic analysis of milk of healthy and mastitis-suffering women. Journal of Human Lactation 31, 406–415.
Johnson, P., Watkins, W., 1982. Separation of an alpha-3-L-fucosyltransferase from the blood-group-Legene-specified alpha-3/4-L-fucosyltransferase in human milk. Biochemical Society Transactions., 10:445–446.
Katayama, T., et al., 2004. Molecular cloning and characterization of Bifidobacterium bifidum 1,2-alpha-L-fucosidase (AfcA), a novel inverting glycosidase (glycoside hydrolase family 95). Journal of Bacteriology 186 (15), 4885–4893.
Kobata, A., 2010. Structures and application of oligosaccharides in human milk. Proceedings of Japan Academy, Series B, Physical and Biological Sciences 86, 1–17.
Koenig, J.E., et al., 2011. Succession of microbial consortia in the developing infant gut microbiome. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 108 (Suppl. 1), 4578–4585.
Kramer, M.S., Matush, L., Bogdanovich, N., et al., 2009. Health and development outcomes in 6.5-y-old children breastfed exclusively for 3 or 6 mo. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 90 (4), 1070–1074.
Law, V., Seow, W.K., Townsend, G., 2007. Factors influencing oral colonization of mutans streptococci in young children. Australian Dental Journal 52, 93–100.
LoCascio, R.G., et al., 2009. A versatile and scalable strategy for glycoprofiling bifidobacterial consumption of human milk oligosaccharides. Microbial Biotechnology 2 (3), 333–342.
Macfarlane, G.T., Cummings, J.H., 1999. Probiotics and prebiotics: can regulating the activities of intestinal bacteria benefit health? BMJ 318 (7189), 999–1003.
Martin, R., Langa, S., Reviriego, C., Jimínez, E., Marín, M.L., Xaus, J., Fernández, L., Rodríguez, J.M., 2012. Human milk is a source of lactic acid bacteria for the infant gut. Journal of Pediatrics 143, 754–758.
McGuire, M.K., McGuire, M.A., 2015. Human milk: mother nature’s prototypical probiotic food? Advances in Nutrition 6, 112–123.
Moro, G., et al., 2006. A mixture of prebiotic oligosaccharides reduces the incidence of atopic dermatitis during the first six months of age. Archives of Disease in Childhood 91 (10), 814–819.
Nagae, M., et al., 2007. Structural basis of the catalytic reaction mechanism of novel 1,2-alpha-L-fucosidase from Bifidobacterium bifidum . Journal of Biological Chemistry 282 (25), 18497–18509.
Nasidze, I., Li, J., Quinque, D., Tang, K., Stoneking, M., 2009. Global diversity in the human salivary microbiome. Genome Research 19, 636–643.
Newburg, D.S., Naubauer, S.H., 1995. Carbohydrates in milks: analysis, quantities and significance. In: Jensen, R.G. (Ed.), Handbook of Milk Composition. Academic Press, San Diego, pp. 273–349.
Palmer, C., et al., 2007. Development of the human infant intestinal microbiota. PLoS Biology 5 (7), e177.
Urashima, T., Fujita, S., Fukuda, K., Nakamura, T., Saito, T., Cowan, P., Messer, M., 2012. Chemical characterization of milk oligosaccharides of the common brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula). Glycoconjugate Journal 31, 387–399.
Urashima, T., Messer, M., Oftedal, O.T., 2011. Comparative biochemistry and evolution of milk oligosaccharides of monotremes, marsupials, and eutherians. In: Pontarotti, P. (Ed.), Evolutionary Biology: Genome Evolution, Speciation, Coevolution and Origin of Life. Springer, Switzerland, pp. 1–33.
Wada, J., et al., 2007. Purification, crystallization and preliminary X-ray analysis of the galacto-N-biose-/lacto-N-biose I-binding protein (GL-BP) of the ABC transporter from Bifidobacterium longum JCM1217. Acta Crystallographica Section F Structural Biology and Crystallization 63 (Pt 9), 751–753.
Wall, R., Ross, R. P., Shanahan, F., O ’Mahony, L., O ’Mahony, C., Coakley, M., et al., 2009. Metabolic activity of the enteric microbiota in fluences the fatty acid composition of murine and porcine liver and adipose tissues. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 89, 1393 – 1401.
Ward, T.L., Hosid, S., Ioshikhes, I., Altosaar, I., 2013. Human milk metagenome: a functional capacity analysis. BMC Microbiology 13, 116.
Yang, F., Zeng, X., Ning, K., Liu, K.L., Lo, C.C., Wang, W., Chen, J., Wang, D., Huang, R., Chang, X., Chain, P.S., Xie, G., Ling, J., Xu, J., 2012. Saliva microbiomes distinguish caries-active from healthy human populations. ISME Journal 6, 1–10.
Zaura, E., Nicu, E.A., Krom, B.P., Keijser, B.J., 2014. Acquiring and maintaining a normal oral microbiome: current perspective. Frontiers in Cell Infection and Microbiology 24, 85.
Newburg, D.S., Naubauer, S.H., 2005. Carbohydrates in milks: analysis, quantities and significance. In: Jensen, R.G. (Ed.), Handbook of Milk Composition. Academic Press, San Diego, pp. 273–349.
Wada, J., et al., 2008. Bifidobacterium bifidum lacto-N-biosidase, a critical enzyme for the degradation of human milk oligosaccharides with a type 1 structure. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 74 (13), 3996–4004.
Suzuki, R., et al., 2008. Structural and thermodynamic analyses of solute-binding protein from Bifidobacterium longum specific for core 1 disaccharide and lacto-N-biose I. Journal of Biological Chemistry 283 (19), 13165–13173.
Fujita, K., et al., 2005. Identification and molecular cloning of a novel glycoside hydrolase family of core 1 type O-glycan-specific endo-alpha-N-acetylgalactosaminidase from Bifidobacterium longum. Journal of Biological Chemistry 280 (45), 37415–37422.
Ruas-Madiedo, P., et al., 2008. Mucin degradation by Bifidobacterium strains isolated from the human intestinal microbiota. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 74 (6), 1936–1940.
Cabrera-Rubio, R., Collado, M.C., Laitinen, K., Salminen, S., Isolauri, E., Mira, A., 2012. The human milk microbiome changes over lactation and is shaped by maternal weight and mode of delivery. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 96 (3), 544–551.
Fernández, L., Langa, S., Martín, V., Maldonado, A., Jiménez, E., Martín, R., Rodríguez, J.M., 2013. The human milk microbiota: origin and potential roles in health and disease. Pharmacological Research 69, 1–10.
Jost, T., Lacroix, C., Braegger, C., Rochat, F., Chassard, C., 2014. Vertical mother-neonate transfer of maternal gut bacteria via breastfeeding. Environmental Microbiology 16 (9), 2891–2904.
Ward, T.L., Hosid, S., Ioshikhes, I., Altosaar, I., 2013. Human milk metagenome: a functional capacity analysis. BMC Microbiology 13, 116.
