Human milk provides a very wide range of nutrients and bioactive components, including immune factors, human milk oligosaccharides, and a commensal microbiota. These factors are essential for interconnected processes including immunity programming and the development of a normal infant gastrointestinal microbiome. Newborn immune protection mostly relies on maternal immune factors provided through milk. However, studies dealing with an in-depth profiling of the different immune compounds present in human milk and with the assessment of their natural variation in healthy women from different populations are scarce. In this context, the objective of this work was the detection and quantification of a wide array of immune compounds, including innate immunity factors (IL1β, IL6, IL12, INFγ, TNFα), acquired immunity factors (IL2, IL4, IL10, IL13, IL17), chemokines (IL8, Groα, MCP1, MIP1β), growth factors [IL5, IL7, epidermal growth factor (EGF), granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, granulocyte–macrophage colony-stimulating factor, TGFβ2], and immunoglobulins (IgA, IgG, IgM), in milk produced by healthy women of different ethnicities living in different geographic, dietary, socioeconomic, and environmental settings. Among the analyzed factors, IgA, IgG, IgM, EGF, TGFβ2, IL7, IL8, Groα, and MIP1β were detected in all or most of the samples collected in each population and, therefore, this specific set of compounds might be considered as the “core” soluble immune factors in milk produced by healthy women worldwide. This approach may help define which immune factors are (or are not) common in milk produced by women living in various conditions, and to identify host, lifestyle, and environmental factors that affect the immunological composition of this complex biological fluid.Clinical Trial Registration: , identifier NCT02670278.

Lactulose and furosine content could be used as heat treatment indicators in colostrum samples. Holder pasteurisation modified the immunological profile of both colostrum and mature milk.

Okara (a byproduct of the soy milk industry) is rich in proteins (24.5-37.5 g/100 g of dry matter (dm)), lipids (9.3-22.3 g/100 g of dm), and dietary fiber (DF) (14.5-55.4 g/100 g of dm). It also contains isoflavones (0.14 g/100 g of dm). In the present study we fed female healthy Wistar rats either a standard rat diet or a supplemented 10% DF-rich okara (DFRO) diet for 4 weeks, and then we assessed several health parameters in the serum and the cecum compartments. In comparison to the control group, rats fed DFRO showed a significant decrease in weight gain (5.00 +/- 1.22 g vs 2.00 +/- 1.46 g, P < 0.03, during week 4) and in total cholesterol (65 +/- 8 mg/dL vs 51 +/- 5 mg/dL, P < 0.05) and a significantly increased antioxidant status (36.71 +/- 15.31 micromol of Trolox equivalents (TEs)/g vs 69.75 +/- 16.11 micromol of TEs/g, P < 0.0003) and butyrogenic effect (39.37%, P < 0.003) in the cecum. In addition, a significant enhancement in the apparent absorption (41.89 +/- 1.64% vs 47.02 +/- 2.51%, P < 0.004) and in the true retention (41.62 +/- 1.60% vs 46.68 +/- 2.55%, P < 0.005) of calcium was appreciated. In summary, these findings show for the first time that a concentrate DF from a soybean byproduct protects the gut environment in terms of antioxidant status and prebiotic effect. These results may highlight the development of an innovative soybean byproduct rich in DF which could be useful as a functional ingredient with health-promoting attributes.

The bacteriological, biochemical, and immunological content of colostrum and mature milk from mothers of extremely preterm infants is particularly valuable for such infants. Efforts have to be made to try that preterm neonates receive milk from their own mothers or from donors matching, as much as possible, the gestational age of the preterm.

Lactational mastitis constitutes one of the main causes of undesired weaning, depriving the mother–infant pair from the benefits of breastfeeding; therefore, this condition should be considered a relevant public health issue. The role of specific microorganisms remains unclear since human milk cultures and antibiotic susceptibility testing (AST) are not routinely performed, despite the fact that this would be key to ensure an early and effective diagnosis and treatment. The objective of this study was to describe the culturable microbial diversity in 647 milk samples from breastfeeding women with clinical symptoms of mastitis by Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-TOF) VITEK MS technology and to analyze the antimicrobial susceptibility profiles of a collection of isolates from these samples by the VITEK 2 AST system. Staphylococcus epidermidis was the most common species isolated from mastitis samples (87.6%), while Staphylococcus aureus was detected in 22.1%. Streptococci constituted the second (68.6%) most prevalent bacterial group, with Streptococcus mitis/oralis, Streptococcus salivarius, and Streptococcus parasanguinis detected with frequencies of 40.8, 36.8, and 14.4%, respectively. The antibiotic susceptibility profiles of 642 staphylococcal isolates indicated a remarkable resistance to benzylpenicillin (88.3%) and erythromycin (67.3%) with differences between species. A high percentage of Staphylococcus isolates were resistant to at least one antibiotic (Staphylococcus hominis, 100%; S. epidermidis, 98.2%; S. aureus, 92.9%; Staphylococcus lugdunensis, 90.5%) and the percentage of multidrug-resistance (MDR) isolates was noticeable (S. hominis, 81%; S. epidermidis, 64.4%; S. aureus, 11.5%; S. lugdunensis, 10.5%). In relation to streptococcal isolates (n = 524), AST revealed high or moderate percentages of resistance to erythromycin (68.7%), benzylpenicillin (63.7%), ampicillin (51.5%), and tetracycline (30.8%). Antibiotic resistance to at least one antibiotic was detected in 97.6% of S. parasanguinis, 92.6% of S. salivarius, 83.3% of S. mitis/oralis, and 72.4% of Streptococcus vestibularis isolates. A significant number of MDR streptococcal isolates was also found (S. parasanguinis, 51.2%; S. salivarius, 39.3%; S. mitis/oralis, 34.6%; and S. vestibularis, 19%). The results highlight the important role of coagulase-negative staphylococci and streptococci as human mastitis-causing agents. Moreover, the high rates of antimicrobial resistance among these microorganisms must be contemplated as an issue of clinical relevance in relation to treatment options.

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Cow’s milk protein allergy (CMPA) is the most common food allergy in infancy. Non-IgE mediated (NIM) forms are little studied and the responsible mechanisms of tolerance acquisition remain obscure. Our aim was to study the intestinal microbiota and related parameters in the fecal samples of infants with NIM-CMPA, to establish potential links between type of formula substitutes, microbiota, and desensitization. Seventeen infants between one and two years old, diagnosed with NIM-CMPA, were recruited. They were all on an exclusion diet for six months, consuming different therapeutic protein hydrolysates. After this period, stool samples were obtained and tolerance development was evaluated by oral challenges. A control group of 10 age-matched healthy infants on an unrestricted diet were included in the study. Microbiota composition, short-chain fatty acids, calprotectin, and transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1 levels were determined in fecal samples from both groups. Infants with NIM-CMPA that consumed vegetable protein-based formulas presented microbiota colonization patterns different from those fed with an extensively hydrolyzed formula. Differences in microbiota composition and fecal parameters between NIM-CMPA and healthy infants were observed. Non-allergic infants showed a significantly higher proportion of Bacteroides compared to infants with NIM-CMPA. The type of protein hydrolysate was found to determine gut microbiota colonization and influence food allergy resolution in NIM-CMPA cases.

Many coagulase-negative staphylococci, viridans group streptococci, and corynebacteria, usually dismissed as contaminant bacteria, may play an important role as etiologic agents of mastitis. Proper diagnosis of mastitis should be established after performing microbiological testing of milk based on standardized procedures. A reliable analysis must identify the mastitis-causing pathogen(s) at the species level and its(their) concentration(s).