Influence of dietary gangliosides on neonatal brain development

Abstract

Gangliosides are sialic acid-containing glycosphingolipids. Gangliosides are found in human milk; understanding of the potential role of gangliosides in infant development is emerging, with suggested roles in the brain and gut. Ganglioside accretion in the developing brain is highest in utero and in early neonatal life, during the periods of dendritic branching and new synapse formation. Further, brain contains the highest relative ganglioside content in the body, particularly in neuronal cell membranes concentrated in the area of the synaptic membrane. Gangliosides are known to play a role in neuronal growth, migration and maturation, neuritogenesis, synaptogenesis, and myelination. In addition to their roles in development and structure of the brain, gangliosides also play a functional role in nerve cell communication. It is less well known whether dietary gangliosides can influence the development of cognitive function. This review summarizes current knowledge on the role gangliosides play in brain development.

Correlation between dietary intake and serum ganglioside concentrations: a cross-sectional study among Malaysian toddlers

“…Foods of plant origin were not included as they are not known to have ganglioside content [7]. The same or equivalent brand, type and flavour of milk powder, dairy products (e.g.…”

“…cheese, butter, ice cream) and bakery products (pancakes, biscuits, cakes) (Additional file 1). Mature human breast milk contains a mix of GD3 and GM3 [7].…”

“…Exogenous administration of sialic acid, either bound or free, in animal model studies, has been shown to increase sialic acid concentrations in gangliosides and glycoproteins of the animal brain leading to improved learning [4][5][6][7]. Similarly, cow-milk-derived glycomacropeptide, a source of sialic acid, was reported to increase sialylation in brain glycoproteins and gangliosides, leading to a positive influence on cognition in animal models [8].…”

“…Foods of plant origin are not a source of gangliosides as they lack the pathway to synthesize sialic acid [7]. Estimates of ganglioside contents in human milk ranged between 1.7 and 68.6 mg/L [17][18][19][20], while that for reconstituted infant formula is about 2-16 mg/L [20][21][22][23].…”

Gangliosides in dairy products: Milk sphingolipids

“…These compounds are critical for the maintenance of membrane structure, modulating the behaviour of growth factor receptors, and serving as binding sites for some microorganisms, microbial toxins, and viruses (VESPER et al, 1999). Gangliosides play a central role in cell-cell communication, cell-matrix interactions, and growth and differentiation of cells, especially neurons (MCJARROW et al, 2009). Sphingolipids are estimated to constitute 0.01-0.02% of the human diet with a yearly intake per capita of about 115 g (VESPER et al, 1999).…”