Human milk as “chrononutrition”: implications for child health and development

Hahn‐Holbrook, Jennifer; Saxbe, Darby; Bixby, Christine; Steele, Caroline; Glynn, Laura M.

doi:10.1038/s41390-019-0368-x

Cited by 51 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 113 publications

(153 reference statements)

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“…Each mother provided one sample of milk at 3-4 months postpartum [mean (SD) 17 (5) weeks postpartum] in a sterile milk container provided by the CHILD study. To control for differences in the milk composition of foreand hindmilk [49] as well as the diurnal variation [50], a mix of foremilk and hindmilk from multiple feeds during a 24-h period was collected. Hand expression was recommended, but pumping was also acceptable.…”

Section: Milk Sample Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Human milk fungi: environmental determinants and inter-kingdom associations with milk bacteria in the CHILD Cohort Study

et al. 2020

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Background: Fungi constitute an important yet frequently neglected component of the human microbiota with a possible role in health and disease. Fungi and bacteria colonise the infant gastrointestinal tract in parallel, yet most infant microbiome studies have ignored fungi. Milk is a source of diverse and viable bacteria, but few studies have assessed the diversity of fungi in human milk. Results: Here we profiled mycobiota in milk from 271 mothers in the CHILD birth cohort and detected fungi in 58 (21.4%). Samples containing detectable fungi were dominated by Candida, Alternaria, and Rhodotorula, and had lower concentrations of two human milk oligosaccharides (disialyllacto-N-tetraose and lacto-N-hexaose). The presence of milk fungi was associated with multiple outdoor environmental features (city, population density, and season), maternal atopy, and early-life antibiotic exposure. In addition, despite a strong positive correlation between bacterial and fungal richness, there was a co-exclusion pattern between the most abundant fungus (Candida) and most of the core bacterial genera. Conclusion: We profiled human milk mycobiota in a well-characterised cohort of mother-infant dyads and provide evidence of possible host-environment interactions in fungal inoculation. Further research is required to establish the role of breastfeeding in delivering fungi to the developing infant, and to assess the health impact of the milk microbiota in its entirety, including both bacterial and fungal components.

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Section: Milk Sample Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Human milk fungi: environmental determinants and inter-kingdom associations with milk bacteria in the CHILD Cohort Study

et al. 2020

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“…The synchronisation of the neonate’s circadian rhythm to its new environment outside the womb depends on external cues such as light/dark exposure and timing of feeding. Circadian fluctuations in human milk composition are likely to assist the transfer of information on time of day from the mother to her newborn [ 17 ]. This makes human milk a unique form of ‘chrono-nutrition’ [ 17 ] and possibly helps the neonate to synchronise with its external environment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Circadian Variation in Human Milk Composition, a Systematic Review

et al. 2020

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Background: Breastfeeding is considered the most optimal mode of feeding for neonates and mothers. Human milk changes over the course of lactation in order to perfectly suit the infant’s nutritional and immunological needs. Its composition also varies throughout the day. Circadian fluctuations in some bioactive components are suggested to transfer chronobiological information from mother to child to assist the development of the biological clock. This review aims to give a complete overview of studies examining human milk components found to exhibit circadian variation in their concentration. Methods: We included studies assessing the concentration of a specific human milk component more than once in 24 h. Study characteristics, including gestational age, lactational stage, sampling strategy, analytical method, and outcome were extracted. Methodological quality was graded using a modified Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS). Results: A total of 83 reports assessing the circadian variation in the concentration of 71 human milk components were included. Heterogeneity among studies was high. The methodological quality varied widely. Significant circadian variation is found in tryptophan, fats, triacylglycerol, cholesterol, iron, melatonin, cortisol, and cortisone. This may play a role in the child’s growth and development in terms of the biological clock.

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“…It was suppressed by 50% in plasma when evening light just at <30 lux [32]. Melatonin plays a role in various physiological activities, serving as a gatekeeper of circadian clocks, modulating memory formation and even passing circadian timing cues from mother to infant [30,33,34]. Melatonin improves new bone formation through mediating Wnt4 signaling and increases the uptake of oxidized vitamin C via upregulating Glut1 [35,36].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Melatonin Orchestrates Lipid Homeostasis through the Hepatointestinal Circadian Clock and Microbiota during Constant Light Exposure

Hong

Pan

et al. 2020

Cells

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Misalignment between natural light rhythm and modern life activities induces disruption of the circadian rhythm. It is mainly evident that light at night (LAN) interferes with the human endocrine system and contributes to the increasing rates of obesity and lipid metabolic disease. Maintaining hepatointestinal circadian homeostasis is vital for improving lipid homeostasis. Melatonin is a chronobiotic substance that plays a main role in stabilizing bodily rhythm and has shown beneficial effects in protecting against obesity. Based on the dual effect of circadian rhythm regulation and antiobesity, we tested the effect of melatonin in mice under constant light exposure. Exposure to 24-h constant light (LL) increased weight and insulin resistance compared with those of the control group (12-h light–12-h dark cycle, LD), and simultaneous supplementation in the melatonin group (LLM) ameliorated this phenotype. Constant light exposure disturbed the expression pattern of a series of transcripts, including lipid metabolism, circadian regulation and nuclear receptors in the liver. Melatonin also showed beneficial effects in improving lipid metabolism and circadian rhythm homeostasis. Furthermore, the LL group had increased absorption and digestion of lipids in the intestine as evidenced by the elevated influx of lipids in the duodenum and decrease in the efflux of lipids in the jejunum. More interestingly, melatonin ameliorated the gut microbiota dysbiosis and improved lipid efflux from the intestine. Thus, these findings offer a novel clue regarding the obesity-promoting effect attributed to LAN and suggest a possibility for obesity therapy by melatonin in which melatonin could ameliorate rhythm disorder and intestinal dysbiosis.

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Human milk as “chrononutrition”: implications for child health and development

Cited by 51 publications

References 113 publications

Human milk fungi: environmental determinants and inter-kingdom associations with milk bacteria in the CHILD Cohort Study

Human milk fungi: environmental determinants and inter-kingdom associations with milk bacteria in the CHILD Cohort Study

Circadian Variation in Human Milk Composition, a Systematic Review

Melatonin Orchestrates Lipid Homeostasis through the Hepatointestinal Circadian Clock and Microbiota during Constant Light Exposure

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