BACKGROUND Previous studies have shown that human milk has a role in the gastrointestinal, neural, and immune development of neonates. If present in milk, adiponectin would be a promising candidate for influencing infant development, given its metabolic functions. OBJECTIVES Our objectives were to determine whether adiponectin is present in human milk and to characterize maternal factors asso...

Human milk is a dynamic source of nutrients and bioactive factors; unique in providing for the human infant's optimal growth and development. The growing infant's immune system has a number of developmental immune deficiencies placing the infant at increased risk of infection. This review focuses on how human milk directly contributes to the infant's innate immunity. Remarkable new findings cla...

The composition and function of human milk is unique and gives a basis for the development of modern artificial milk formulas that can provide an appropriate substitute for non-breastfed infants. Although human milk is not fully substitutable, modern milk formulas are attempting to mimic human milk and partially substitute its complex biological positive effects on infants. Besides the immunomo...

Human breast milk is the best nutritional support that insures the right development and influences the immune status of the newborn infant. However, when it is not possible to breast feed, it may be necessary to use commercial infant formulas that mimic, where possible, the levels and types of nutrients present in human milk. Despite this, some formula-fed infant develops allergy and/or atopic...

The use of donor human milk is increasing for high-risk infants, primarily for infants born weighing <1500 g or those who have severe intestinal disorders. Pasteurized donor milk may be considered in situations in which the supply of maternal milk is insufficient. The use of pasteurized donor milk is safe when appropriate measures are used to screen donors and collect, store, and pasteurize the...

Neonate ruminants possess little cell-wall and starch degrading enzyme activity. Importantly, early establishment of fibrolytic, amylolytic, and proteolytic capacities is influential for the early expansion of the reticulorumen epithelia. Such an early development in reticulorumen fermentation will enable a timely hepatic adaptation to volatile fatty acids assimilation. The early nutrient relea...

1. Very little is known about the biological availability of manganese from human milk and other infant milk diets. To determine the relative Mn availability, and to examine whether the age and the duration of previous fasting affect Mn absorption, sucking rats were given human milk, bovine milk and infant formula (regular Similac; Ross Laboratories, Columbus, OH) extrinsically labelled with 54...

Colostrum is the first milk produced after birth and is rich in immunoglobulins and bioactive molecules. We examined whether human colostrum and milk contained pancreatic secretory trypsin inhibitor (PSTI), a peptide of potential relevance for mucosal defense and, using in vitro and in vivo models, determined whether its presence influenced gut integrity and repair. Human milk was collected fro...

MicroRNA have been recently discovered in human milk signifying potentially important functions for both the lactating breast and the infant. Whilst human milk microRNA have started to be explored, little data exist on the evaluation of sample processing, and analysis to ensure that a full spectrum of microRNA can be obtained. Human milk comprises three main fractions: cells, skim milk, and lip...

Human milk is a source of biologically active proteins, including lactoferrin (LF) and antibodies (Abs). These proteins are considered as the most polyfunctional proteins of human milk. Apparently, human milk is not a simple mixture of proteins and peptides: recently it was shown that human milk contains stable supramolecular protein com‐ plex, composed of LF, α‐lactalbumin, milk albumin, β‐cas...