Is the mother's milk source for a new generation of antibiotics?
Scientists found anew sweet way to
fight harmful bacteria through Sugars in women’s breast milk.
Scientists results show that,
“sugars keep Group B Strep in check and so babies don’t readily acquire
infections while nursing. If so, and if researchers can identify the exact
sugars responsible, those molecules might be converted into desperately needed
new antibiotic drugs that could sidestep some of the problems, such as
bacterial resistance, with existing antibiotics”.
One of the most interesting findings
was “the variability among different women’s breast milk”. “Chemist Steven
Townsend of Vanderbilt University in Nashville and his colleagues began with
milk samples from five women. After isolating the collection of sugars in each,
the researchers suspended the mix in water to reach the same concentration as
in whole breast milk. Then the sugary slurry was applied to lab plates, along
with Streptococcus agalactiae — Group B Strep”.
Of the five samples, “one woman’s
breast milk sugars were especially potent at preventing the bacteria from
getting a foothold and multiplying, the researchers found. Another sample, from
a different woman, showed middling effects against the bacteria. The three
remaining samples weren’t effective. The researchers have since tested breast
milk samples from another 20 or so women and are working on figuring out the exact
identities of the bacteria-busting sugars”.
“The variability
among the five women’s samples was surprising, Townsend says, “but it’s easily
rationalized.” The types of sugars any person has depend on the levels of
glycosyltransferases, proteins that help build sugar molecules. And this family
of proteins is shaped by the specific genes a person carries”.
“That’s just the
beginning of the variation, though. Other breast milk ingredients differ widely
among women. The reasons for these differences aren’t all known, but diet, body
composition and perhaps even whether a woman is feeding a baby boy or girl may
all play a role”.
“Breast milk also
varies within the same woman over months, days and even minutes. For example,
breast milk grows fattier half an hour after an infant feed, a study
has found. And milk produced by a mother who has been breastfeeding for longer
than 7 months is different from the milk she made when her child was
younger, showing lower levels of zinc, copper and potassium (but similar in
calcium and fat)”.
“Many other
differences exist when it comes to breast milk. It’s a highly idiosyncratic
beverage. So when researchers turn up new ingredients — or new jobs for
previously known ingredients — I get excited. Especially when those discoveries
may lead to a new way to fight harmful bacteria”.
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