Digestion of human milk with regard to premature infants

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Jens Brockmeyer
• Subject Area: Food Chemistry ; Biological and Biomimetic Chemistry
• Term: since 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 524798741

Breastfeeding is well-known to provide significant short- and long-term health benefits, but the complex interaction between the human milk (HM) and the neonate remains to be fully understood. This involves exploring the effect of gastrointestinal (GI) digestion on the structural transitions of HM and the impact on the breakdown of proteins, lipids and carbohydrates. A comprehensive understanding of the composition of HM, the time-dependent modulation in different stages of lactation and its interaction will help to understand how critical physiological functions such as immune system and metabolism are established in early life. The biochemical composition of HM varies considerably between different stages of lactation. Compositional and structural differences are also evident when the milks produced by mothers of full-term and preterm infants are compared. Notably, no large scale comparative studies are available that comprehensively investigate the differences in digestibility, nutrient release and availability of bioactive compounds in a suitable model system for the above mentioned circumstances. To close this gap in knowledge, we will comprehensively characterize samples from four different types of HM (n>=30 for each type): colostrum and mature milk obtained from mothers of preterm infants and from mothers of full-term infants, respectively. Freshly-collected HM samples will be tested for their biochemical composition and microstructure and subjected to in vitro infant digestion conditions in a newly developed semi-dynamic in vitro system, comprising the oral, the gastric and the small intestinal compartments. The model involves the mechanistic aspects of gastric phase separation and dynamic transition of digesta into the small intestine. The GI fate of HM will be closely monitored by, among other techniques, in-depth, proteomics, lipidomics, oligosaccharide analysis and subsequent bioinformatics and chemometric data analysis in order to identify and explain digestion time-dependent differences in structural composition between the four types of HM involved in the study. By comparative analysis of HM from different lactation phases and birth circumstances in a physiologically relevant semi-dynamic model of infant digestion, we aim to deliver robust and extensive scientific data on the modulation of HM composition and the influence on digestion and nutrient bio-accessibility. Apart from revealing fundamental aspects of the HM digestion patterns that may well-reflect physiological conditions, we will also test the GI behavior of selected, conventional infant formulas (IFs). This is in order to emphasize any differences relative to the behavior of HMs. Using a variety of mathematical models, we also aim to produce a designed composition of such nutritional supplements of HM for feeding preterm and full-term infants at different stages of their development.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Poland
• Cooperation Partner: Professor Dr. Adam Macierzanka