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. 2023 Sep 11;20(12):1513-1526.
doi: 10.7150/ijms.87995. eCollection 2023.

Effects of maternal toxic substance consumption during breastfeeding on lactic acid bacteria abundance and nutritional content

Jesús Alonso Amezcua López  1 , Elisa García Morales  2   3 , Daniel Pérez-Rulfo Ibarra  2   3 , Josué Raymundo Solís Pacheco  1 , Blanca Rosa Aguilar Uscanga  1
Affiliations

Effects of maternal toxic substance consumption during breastfeeding on lactic acid bacteria abundance and nutritional content

Jesús Alonso Amezcua López et al. Int J Med Sci. .

Abstract

Breast milk is widely recognized as the primary source of nourishment for newborns, making it an unparalleled and indispensable provider of essential nutrients, microbiological components, immunological factors, and energy content. To investigate this further, a cohort comprising 254 breastfeeding women participated in interviews, and milk samples were aseptically collected for subsequent analysis involving bromatological, microbiological, and clinical analysis. The investigation focused on the identification of specific microorganisms in breast milk and their susceptibility to the exposure of toxic substances and controlled medications. Notably, this study places particular emphasis on the significant decline in lactic acid bacteria observed in breast milk when influenced by substances such as cocaine, cannabis, crystal, and morphine. These detrimental agents have been found to adversely affect the growth of microorganisms within breast milk. On the contrary, the outcomes of this study indicate that the utilization of toxic substances does not exert a noteworthy impact on the nutritional quality of breast milk.

Keywords: breastfeeding; inhibition; microbiota; newborn; toxic substances.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interest exists.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Patterns of substance consumption in relation to gestational age. (A) Shows the frequency of toxic substances use during the lactation period. (B) Depicts the variation in gestational age in relation to the consumption of substances of abuse (**** p < 0.0001; *** p < 0.001; ns, non-significative).
Figure 1
Figure 1
Patterns of substance consumption in relation to gestational age. (A) Shows the frequency of toxic substances use during the lactation period. (B) Depicts the variation in gestational age in relation to the consumption of substances of abuse (**** p < 0.0001; *** p < 0.001; ns, non-significative).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Relationship of maternal nutritional status and toxic substance consumption with the reduction of gestational age (Kruskal-Wallis test, ** p = 0.01, *** p = 0.001).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Macronutrients available in breast milk of mothers who use toxic substances. (A) The protein content present in breast milk was compared between the groups of mothers who use toxic substances, alcohol, tobacco, and caffeine, against the values of healthy mothers (formula image = 1.48 g/dL); (B) total lipid content in breast milk of the five groups, formula image = 3.60 g/dL for healthy mothers; (C) lactose content, formula image = 8.16 g/dL for healthy mothers; (D) energy content, formula image = 86.30 Kcal/dL for healthy mothers.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Variations in LAB content in breast milk of toxic substances consuming mothers (maximum standard range 4.0 x 106, minimum 5.0 x 105 CFU/mL), average for healthy donors 1.64 x 106 CFU/mL
Figure 5
Figure 5
Inhibitory effects of toxic substances and controlled medications on microbial growth (The red dashed line represents the average value of the antibiotic control used for the inhibitions, which measures formula image = 9 ± 1.56 mm in diameter).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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