Study shows more about composition of mothers milk
Posted on: 22/Apr/2016 10:19:21 AM
A new study, published in the journal Trends in Biochemical Sciences, has shown that mother`s milk contains more than 200 different sugar molecules. The average in other mammals is between 30 and 50.
Scientists, however, do not know what role each of these molecules play or how their composition changes during breast feeding. When a baby is born, its guts are sterile of any bacteria. The number goes up to millions in the first few days and billions in the first week. These bacteria chew on the compounds from the sugar molecules in breast milk.
The breast milk is also rich in antibodies that lay the foundation for the baby`s immune system. When the baby starts to develop an adaptive immune system of its own - which is about a month after birth - the levels of maternal antibodies drop by more than 90 percent and the composition of breast milk transitions. There is a lesser selection for bacterial species due to a decrease in the diversity of sugars in the breast milk. In its place, there is an increased number of fat and other nutrients that augment the growth of the baby.
