Experts spotlight microbiome’s holistic impact on infant nutrition

28 Jan 2021 --- With the role of the microbiome in maintaining infants’ health becoming clearer, industry is responding with a host of NPD. Experts in this space speak to NutritionInsight about how gut-friendly ingredients can have an impact far beyond digestive health.

Sophie Nicolas, marketing manager of early life nutrition at FrieslandCampina Ingredients, explains that gut health has been a hot topic in the global market for the last couple of years. The company recently collaborated on a survey with Innova Market Insights.

“Now gut health is starting to emerge in the early life nutrition field as well. It has entered the top five concerns of parents, with half of them indicating that they are concerned about their child’s gut health.”

However, there is major regional variation in gut or digestive health positioning, according to Innova Market Insights. While just 6 percent of infant nutrition launches in West Europe feature a digestive or gut health claim, in Asia, 24 percent of launches do. 

Meanwhile, East European and North American launches have these positionings on 22 percent and 20 percent of their products, respectively. 

The research carried out with FrieslandCampina Ingredients also found that the association from parents with regards to “gut health” is still largely related to “digestive health.”

“In fact, preserving balanced and diverse gut microbiota is associated with a wide range of beneficial health effects on immunity, growth and even brain development. This offers an opportunity for early life nutrition manufacturers to educate parents on the benefits of balanced gut microbiota on their child’s health.”A wide range of factors including diet, environment and mode of birth can impact children’s microbiota.

Getting a good start
The intestinal microflora of infants should contain a high proportion of bifidobacteria during their first year of life, argues Morgane Maillard, marketing manager for Lallemand Health Solutions.

“Growing up, until their third year, infants will acquire and develop their microflora until they reach a more stable stage, similar and as diverse as an adult.”

She explains that a smooth and timely evolution of the microflora from birth up to three years old will aid healthy gut development and integrity. 

This, in turn, will help maintain immune and non-allergic development. Many factors along this growing period – from mode of birth to diet – will influence the quality of children’s microflora.  

Industry can play a role by providing ingredients that babies might otherwise be missing. 

Notably, a study recently found that nine out of ten US infants may be suffering from a substantial deficiency in an important gut bacterium, which is crucial for breast milk utilization and immune system development.

Meanwhile, two studies from Lallemand Health Solutions show how probiotics support babies’ health during the first months of life and how they work in synergy with human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs). 

“An in vitro test showed that B. infantis Rosell-33 and B. bifidum Rosell-71 were able to metabolize HMOs. These are new scientific elements that help believe it is more and more possible to imitate quite precisely mother’s milk,” explains Maillard.

The impact of probiotics beyond the gut
Probiotics can also play an important role beyond digestive health, with certain strains being used to address skin issues like eczema. 

Maillard notes that atopic dermatitis (AD) is frequent in children, but probiotics can help. One study investigated the effects of Lacidofil – a combination of Lactobacillus Rosell-11 and Lactobacillus Rosell-52 – on both the clinical symptoms of AD and the quality of life for patients and their families.

After a month of using an emollient containing Lacidofil, the clinical symptoms improved, and quality of life ratings were “significantly greater.”

Another facet of wellness that probiotics can address is mental health. A study late last year found that Lallemand’s Lacidofil may help reduce a predisposition to anxiety caused by early-life stress.Gut-friendly ingredients can have a knock-on effect on areas from skin health to immunity. 

Immunity considerations
Concerns regarding immunity are currently sweeping across market sectors, including infant nutrition. 

A 2020 survey from FrieslandCampina Ingredients and Innova Market Insights found that immunity is now the number one concern among parents of infants younger than a year old. Nearly 60 percent of these parents indicated concern for their infants’ immune health. 

However, children who are not breastfed can be at disadvantage. 

Earlier this month, researchers pinpointed the biological mechanism behind the long-term positive health effects of breastfeeding in preventing disorders of the immune system in later life.

Maillard explains that over the past two decades, research has shown the different levels that probiotics can influence the immune response. 

“First, they influence the barrier effect. Probiotics help protect the gut surface from potential pathogens and prevent their translocation from the gut lumen by increasing mucin production and improving tight junction between epithelial cells, or by competing with pathogen binding.”

Additionally, certain probiotics can modulate the non-specific innate immune response. Specific probiotics are even able to activate the specific adaptive immune response for a third level of protection, she details. 

In December, experts from NZMP and Vaneeghen, as well as Maillard and Nicolas, explored parallel trends between the infant and adult markets. One notable theme is personalization, with the formula industry increasingly taking regional variations into account. 

By Katherine Durrell