Effects of Mediterranean diet or Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction during pregnancy on maternal gut and vaginal microbiota: a subanalysis of the Improving Mothers for a better PrenAtal Care Trial BarCeloNa (IMPACT BCN) trial.

Background: Despite the importance of gestation period for human health, studies addressing the impact of maternal microbiota on its progression and its modulation by maternal lifestyle are scarce. Although most of the evidence in the field comes from observational studies, we recently described how some lifestyle interventions during pregnancy reduced the small-for-gestational-age (SGA) incidence. We hypothesized the pregnant individual's microbiome modulation as potential mechanism by which lifestyle interventions could impact gestation progression.

Maternal diet shapes infant microbiota and defensive capacity against infections in early life via differential human milk composition.

Background: Maternal nutritional status and dietary profile during pregnancy and lactation have short- and long-term impacts on offspring health. However, there is an incomplete understanding of the mechanisms behind these health effects. This study aims to assess the effect of maternal diet on the health of offspring by examining to unravel the impact of maternal diet on offspring health outcomes and evaluate the link between maternal nutrition, human milk immune components and neonatal colonisation as potential mechanisms that mediate the influence of maternal diet in the incidence of infant infections.

Impact of extensively hydrolyzed infant formula on the probiotic and postbiotic properties of in an co-culture model.

Early gut homeostasis is a balance between dietary antigen exposure, gut barrier function, microbiome establishment and orchestration of innate and adaptive immune responses. Imbalances during this early time of development can lead to increased susceptibility to immune reactions like allergy. Especially for infants with a predisposition to allergies and who cannot be exclusively breastfed, there are different human milk substitutes, including hydrolyzed infant formula, which are supposed to prevent allergy-associated mechanisms.

Development of lactation and breast/chestfeeding adverse event terminology (LaBAET) through a Delphi consensus approach.

Background: Most women who give birth will initiate lactation and breast/chestfeeding, with up to 40% of infants globally receiving human milk exclusively for the first 6 months of life. One of the studies indicates that 40% of breastfeeding women had used at least one prescription medication in the first 3 months postpartum. The lack of information on the safety of medications during lactation may lead to cessation of lactation in favor of treatments, therefore contribute to suboptimal breastfeeding rates.

Breastfeeding and early Bifidobacterium-driven microbial colonization shape the infant gut resistome.

The assembly of the gut resistome in early life is key to infant health. Specific perinatal factors such as cesarean section (C-section), antibiotic exposure and lack of breastfeeding practices are detrimental to proper microbial development and increase the antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs). Using 265 gut longitudinal metagenomes from 66 mother-infant pairs, we investigated how perinatal factors influence the acquisition and dynamics of ARGs during the first year of life.

Mother-to-infant vertical transmission in early life: a systematic review and proportional meta-analysis of Bifidobacterium strain transmissibility.

Early-life colonization is a critical developmental process influencing infant biological programming, with bifidobacteria playing a key role. This systematic review examines the transmissibility of Bifidobacterium strains from mothers to infants. Adhering to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, 31 articles from 2009 to 2024 were selected from 2825 screened titles and abstracts.

Postbiotics: a perspective on their quantification.

A "postbiotic" is . To encourage collaborative problem-solving to address the issues related to the characterization and quantification of postbiotics, a working group of academic and industry scientists involved in research or commercial production of postbiotics convened at the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP) 2024 meeting. This paper reports the outcomes of that discussion.

A diet rich in fibre and vegetable protein during gestation and lactation shapes maternal immunity, intestinal microbiota and lipid metabolism.

Background: Establishing optimal maternal nutritional habits during pregnancy, breastfeeding, and early life is crucial for the health and welfare of both the mother and the child. However, research is lacking to understand the associated mechanisms linking maternal diet to health outcomes. The objective of this study was to assess the potential influence of two distinct diets, consumed during gestation and lactation, on the microbiota composition, immunity and lipid metabolism of Lewis dams.

Comprehensive analysis of spp. from two European healthy infant cohorts shows stable genomic traits including antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

spp. some of which are pathogenic, are common gut microbiota members, including also infants. Infants may be more susceptible to due to their developing gut ecosystems.

Unlocking the power of human milk and infant feeding: Understanding how nutrition and early microbiota interaction shapes health programming.

Human milk represents a highly evolved bioactive system that promotes colonization by infant microbial pioneers, supports immune maturation, and fosters infant development. Beyond providing nutrition, human milk contains key bioactive components, such as microbes, metabolites, human milk oligosaccharides, immunoglobulins, lactoferrin, and antimicrobial peptides. These factors influence colonization of the infant gut microbiome and facilitate immune development and metabolic health, with implications for health outcomes and risk of non-communicable diseases.

Modulation of the gut microbiota and the microbial-produced gut metabolites by diclofenac exposure and selenium supplementation.

Diclofenac (DCF) exposure is of great concern due to the ecotoxicological risk linked with a decline of vulture populations in Southeast Asia, but also because it can affect the reproduction and neurotoxicity in mammals. Otherwise, selenium (Se) is an antioxidant essential element with key roles in health and with antagonistic action against pollutants, but in some cases with a synergistic effect. To investigate the potential intertwined mechanisms between DCF, Se, and gut microbiota, gut metabolomic and gut microbiota profiles were determined in mice after DCF exposure and Se supplementation.

Diversity in women and their vaginal microbiota.

Women's health is essential to global societal and economic wellbeing, yet health disparities remain prevalent. The vaginal microbiota plays a critical role in health, with research indicating that reduced levels of core bacteria, such as lactobacilli, are associated with conditions like bacterial vaginosis (BV) and increased infection susceptibility. Lower levels of vaginal lactobacilli are reported more frequently in women of African and Latin American descent compared with women of European and Asian descent.

International consensus statement on microbiome testing in clinical practice.

There is growing interest in the potential exploitation of the gut microbiome as a diagnostic tool in medicine, but evidence supporting its clinical usefulness is scarce. An increasing number of commercial providers offer direct-to-consumer microbiome diagnostic tests without any consensus on their regulation or any proven value in clinical practice, which could result in considerable waste of individual and health-care resources and potential drawbacks in the clinical management of patients. We convened an international multidisciplinary expert panel to standardise best practices of microbiome testing for clinical implementation, including recommendations on general principles and minimum requirements for their provision, indications, pre-testing protocols, method of analyses, reporting of results, and potential clinical value.

Protein-bound and free glycation compounds in human milk: A comparative study with minimally processed infant formula and pasteurized bovine milk.

The role of the Maillard reaction and the accumulation of non-enzymatic glycation compounds in human milk have been scarcely considered. In this study, we investigated the proteins most susceptible to glycation, the identity of the corresponding modified residues and the quantitative relationship between protein-bound and free glycation compounds in raw human milk and, for comparison, in minimally processed infant formula and pasteurized bovine milk. In human milk, total protein-bound lysine modifications were up to 10% of the counterparts in infant formula, while Nε-carboxymethyllysine reached up to 27% of the concentration in the other two products.

Microbiota during pregnancy and early life: role in maternal-neonatal outcomes based on human evidence.

Here, we explored the vast potential of microbiome-based interventions in preventing and managing non-communicable diseases including obesity, diabetes, allergies, celiac disease, inflammatory bowel diseases, malnutrition, and cardiovascular diseases across different life stages. We discuss the intricate relationship between microbiome and non-communicable diseases, emphasizing on the "window of opportunity" for microbe-host interactions during the first years after birth. Specific biotics and also live biotherapeutics including fecal microbiota transplantation emerge as pivotal tools for precision medicine, acknowledging the "one size doesn't' fit all" aspect.

The Role of Infant Gut Microbiota Modulation by Perinatal Maternal Probiotic Intervention in Atopic Eczema Risk Reduction.

Introduction: Probiotics have shown potential in reducing the occurrence of atopic eczema in high-risk infants. We aimed here to assess whether the preventive effect of maternal probiotic administration stems from compositional changes in early gut microbiota.

Methods: This study included 46 mother-infant pairs from an original randomized controlled trial assessing the impact of maternal probiotic intervention with either the combinations of Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus LPR and Bifidobacterium longum BL999, or Lacticaseibacillus paracasei ST11 and Bifidobacterium longum BL999, or placebo beginning 2 months before expected delivery and ending 2 months after birth.

Early-Life Supplementation Enhances Gastrointestinal Immunity and Microbiota in Young Rats.

Immunonutrition, which focuses on specific nutrients in breast milk and post-weaning diets, plays a crucial role in supporting infants' immune system development. This study explored the impact of maternal supplementation with M-16V and a combination of short-chain galacto-oligosaccharide (scGOS) and long-chain fructo-oligosaccharide (lcFOS) from pregnancy through lactation, extending into the early childhood of the offspring. The synbiotic supplementation's effects were examined at both mucosal and systemic levels.

Impact of maternal ve M-16V and scGOS/lcFOS supplementation during pregnancy and lactation on the maternal immune system and milk composition.

Introduction: Maternal synbiotic supplementation during pregnancy and lactation can significantly influence the immune system. Prebiotics and probiotics have a positive impact on the immune system by preventing or ameliorating among others intestinal disorders. This study focused on the immunomodulatory effects of M-16V and short chain galacto-oligosaccharides (scGOS)/long chain fructo-oligosachairdes (lcFOS), including systemic and mucosal compartments and milk composition.

Maternal Synbiotic Supplementation with M-16V and scGOS/lcFOS Shape Offspring Immune Development and Gut Microbiota at the End of Suckling.

Immune system development during gestation and suckling is significantly modulated by maternal environmental and dietary factors. Breastfeeding is widely recognized as the optimal source of nutrition for infant growth and immune maturation, and its composition can be modulated by the maternal diet. In the present work, we investigated whether oral supplementation with and short-chain galacto-oligosaccharide (scGOS) and long-chain fructo-oligosaccharide (lcFOS) to rat dams during gestation and lactation has an impact on the immune system and microbiota composition of the offspring at day 21 of life.