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Review
. 2020 Feb 19;12(2):534.
doi: 10.3390/nu12020534.

Breast Milk Lipids and Fatty Acids in Regulating Neonatal Intestinal Development and Protecting against Intestinal Injury

David Ramiro-Cortijo  1 , Pratibha Singh  1 , Yan Liu  1 , Esli Medina-Morales  1 , William Yakah  2 , Steven D Freedman  1   3 , Camilia R Martin  2   3
Affiliations
Review

Breast Milk Lipids and Fatty Acids in Regulating Neonatal Intestinal Development and Protecting against Intestinal Injury

David Ramiro-Cortijo et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

Human breast milk is the optimal source of nutrition for infant growth and development. Breast milk fats and their downstream derivatives of fatty acids and fatty acid-derived terminal mediators not only provide an energy source but also are important regulators of development, immune function, and metabolism. The composition of the lipids and fatty acids determines the nutritional and physicochemical properties of human milk fat. Essential fatty acids, including long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFAs) and specialized pro-resolving mediators, are critical for growth, organogenesis, and regulation of inflammation. Combined data including in vitro, in vivo, and human cohort studies support the beneficial effects of human breast milk in intestinal development and in reducing the risk of intestinal injury. Human milk has been shown to reduce the occurrence of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), a common gastrointestinal disease in preterm infants. Preterm infants fed human breast milk are less likely to develop NEC compared to preterm infants receiving infant formula. Intestinal development and its physiological functions are highly adaptive to changes in nutritional status influencing the susceptibility towards intestinal injury in response to pathological challenges. In this review, we focus on lipids and fatty acids present in breast milk and their impact on neonatal gut development and the risk of disease.

Keywords: breast milk; long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids; milk fat globule; necrotizing enterocolitis; premature infants.

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Conflict of interest statement

Martin and Freedman have grant support from Alcresta Therapeutics, Inc., and serve on the scientific advisory board of Prolacta Biosciences. Martin has grant support from Feihe International and Mead Johnson Nutrition; and serves on the scientific advisory boards of Fresenius Kabi and LUCA Biologics. The funders had no role in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Breast milk fat components and relationship with neonatal health-disease balance. Scheme of fat globule illustrating of the core-shell structure.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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