Oligosacáridos de la leche materna: evidencia de su funcionalidad en lactantes
- Cecilia Martínez Costa
- M. C. Collado
- Manuel Sánchez Luna
- Guillermo Álvarez Calatayud
- Gerardo Rodríguez Martínez
- María Luisa Vidal Guevara
- Enriqueta Román Riechmann
- José Manuel Moreno Villares
ISSN: 0001-6640
Année de publication: 2019
Volumen: 77
Número: 5-6
Pages: 119-128
Type: Article
D'autres publications dans: Acta pediátrica española
Résumé
Human milk is a very complex fluid that contains numerous bioactive compounds. Among them, it includes very high concentrations of oligosaccharides (human milk oligosaccharides [HMOs]) that group more than a hundred complex sugars. We present an extensive review of the composition and functions of the HMOs, highlighting the influence of the maternal genotype FUT2 on the type and concentration, being the latter much higher in FUT secretory women. The HMOs are non digestible in the intestine of the infant, therefore, they provide a substrate for the development of an intestinal microbiota, mainly rich in bifidobacteria. In addition, since some of these HMOs share some structural sequences with receptors for intestinal pathogens, they act as decoy blocking these receptors preventing their adhesion and proliferation. The benefits of the consumption of these HMOs are considered unique, therefore the synthesis of HMOs structurally identical to those found in breast milk and with similar functionality demonstrated through clinical studies, opens a very interesting line of research in the field of infant nutrition. The first clinical studies conducted with HMOs are analyzed, considering necessary new clinical intervention trials in infants to confirm these effects on the immune system and reducing the frequency of respiratory and gastrointestinal infections.