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Review
. 2018 Oct 18;10(10):1541.
doi: 10.3390/nu10101541.

Microbial and Nutritional Programming-The Importance of the Microbiome and Early Exposure to Potential Food Allergens in the Development of Allergies

Bożena Cukrowska  1
Affiliations
Review

Microbial and Nutritional Programming-The Importance of the Microbiome and Early Exposure to Potential Food Allergens in the Development of Allergies

Bożena Cukrowska. Nutrients. .

Abstract

The "microbiota hypothesis" ties the increase in allergy rates observed in highly developed countries over the last decades to disturbances in the gut microbiota. Gut microbiota formation depends on a number of factors and occurs over approximately 1000 days of life, including the prenatal period. During this period the microbiota helps establish the functional immune phenotype, including immune tolerance. The development of immune tolerance depends also on early exposure to potential food allergens, a process referred to as nutritional programming. This article elaborates on the concepts of microbial and nutritional programming and their role in the primary prevention of allergy.

Keywords: allergy; intestinal microbiota; microbial programming; microbiome; nutritional programming; prevention.

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Conflict of interest statement

B.C. has served as a speaker for Nutritia, Mead Johnson, Bayer, Apotex, and Polpharma.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Immune tolerance development in children. Regulatory (Treg) T lymphocytes are activated by the gut microbiota and contact with potential food allergens.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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