Human Milk Oligosaccharides: 2′-Fucosyllactose (2′-FL) and Lacto-N-Neotetraose (LNnT) in Infant Formula

Abstract

The authors reviewed the published evidence on the presence of oligosaccharides in human milk (HMO) and their benefits in in vitro and in vivo studies. The still limited data of trials evaluating the effect of mainly 2′-fucosyllactose (2′-FL) on the addition of some of HMOs to infant formula were also reviewed. PubMed was searched from January 1990 to April 2018. The amount of HMOs in mother’s milk is a dynamic process as it changes over time. Many factors, such as duration of lactation, environmental, and genetic factors, influence the amount of HMOs. HMOs may support immune function development and provide protection against infectious diseases directly through the interaction of the gut epithelial cells or indirectly through the modulation of the gut microbiota, including the stimulation of the bifidobacteria. The limited clinical data suggest that the addition of HMOs to infant formula seems to be safe and well tolerated, inducing a normal growth and suggesting a trend towards health benefits. HMOs are one of the major differences between cow’s milk and human milk, and available evidence indicates that these components do have a health promoting benefit. The addition of one or two of these components to infant formula is safe, and brings infant formula closer to human milk. More prospective, randomized trials in infants are need to evaluate the clinical benefit of supplementing infant formula with HMOs.

Lactoferrin Reverses Methotrexate Driven Epithelial Barrier Defect by Inhibiting TGF-β Mediated Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition

“…Therefore, for subsequent experiments, we used 10 µM lactoferrin, a concentration that consistently blocked luminal accumulation of 3 kDa dextran in methotrexate-treated cysts (Figure 1B, C, Supplemental Figure S1A, B). We also evaluated the most common human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs), 2-Fucosyllactose (2-FL) and 3-Fucosyllactose (3-FL), in this assay and found that these components had no significant effect on epithelial barrier function, consistent with previous studies suggesting they function primarily as prebiotics (Supplemental Figure S2A) 42 . Similar results were obtained in the higher complexity murine intestinal epithelial organoid model 30 .…”

Human Milk Oligosaccharides Differently Modulate Goblet Cells Under Homeostatic, Proinflammatory Conditions and ER Stress

“…The high concentration and structural diversity of hMOs are unique to human, and >200 hMOs have been identified up to now . Currently nondigestible fibers such as galacto‐oligosaccharides (GOS) and inulins are being used to substitute for hMO in infant feeding, but some hMOs are now also being produced in sufficiently high amounts allowing application in infant formula …”

Considerations for the design and conduct of human gut microbiota intervention studies relating to foods

“…The infant gut microbiota is characterized by a degree of instability with diet being one of the main drivers shaping the microbiota during infancy (e.g. breast-fed vs formula-fed) [13]. Delivery mode (vaginal birth, caesarean delivery) and gestational age are also important factors determining gut microbial composition in early-life [14,15].…”