Nitrogen in Breast Milk Helps Infant Development

The nitrogen present in breast milk is used by the beneficial bacteria present in the infants’ digestive system. It plays an important role in pediatric nutrition and development, investigates a study conducted at the University of Massachusetts. The study also finds new targets to improve the efficiency of nitrogen metabolism through the microbiome present in infants and adults.

“It was once thought that the nutrients and bioactives in human milk were transferred directly to the nursing infant in a linear manner”. “Now there is considerable evidence that human milk directs early establishment of the microbiome through molecules, such as oligosaccharides, that modulate specific microbial populations to impact infant health and wellness,” Sela says.

The study shows that the, Bifidobacterium infantis (a beneficial bacterium present in the gut of the infants) utilizes the mother’s milk products including those the infants don’t digest. It makes use of urea (the waste product) as a nitrogen source.

The urea nitrogen connection is important in ruminant animals, and plays a critical role in infant nutrition.

According to Sela “We want to characterize mechanistically what is going on within the microbes themselves. We’re trying to reduce the system into its components and then paint the larger picture once we understand the smaller aspects of it,”

More studies are needed to see the relationship between nitrogen in human milk and infant development.

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Source: Medindia