Prebiotic Oligosaccharides Found in Milk Reduce the Risks of Allergies and Infections in Newborn Babies and Young Children

14 Jul 2008

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The results clearly demonstrate that the protective effect of this prebiotic mixture is lasting beyond the intervention period, suggesting that an immune modulating effect through the intestinal flora modification may be the principal mechanism of action.

14/07/08 Adding prebiotic oligosaccharides to infant formula may substantially reduce the incidence of allergies and infections in newborn babies and young children, claim researchers in the Journal of Nutrition. The benefits lasted long after the babies had stopped having formula and had been weaned and were still evident after two years.

Child healthcare specialists hailed the new study as very promising, building on earlier evidence that this specific mixture of prebiotic oligosaccharides can encourage the balance of healthy bacteria in the gut and so enhance the development of the immune system in early life.

"Our hypothesis was that this mixture of prebiotic oligosaccharides could mimic the immune modulatory function of human milk, leading to a reduction in the incidence of allergic manifestations, such as atopic dermatitis, and infections in formula-fed infants," said Dr Guido Moro, Professor of Neonatology at the Centre for Infant Nutrition, University of Milan, Italy.

The results show that, compared to placebo, this prebiotic oligosaccharide-enriched milk:

- halved the cumulative incidence of atopic dermatitis (AD) (from 27.9 per cent to 13.6 per cent)
- reduced total infections by 30 per cent (from 5.9 episodes per infant to 4.1 per infant)
- reduced antibiotic prescriptions by a third (from 2.7 courses of antibiotics per infant to 1.8 per infant)
- reduced episodes of fever by 43 per cent (3.9 episodes per infant to 2.1 per infant).

"Although these oligosaccharides are not identical to those present in human milk, when added to formula milk and fed to pre-term and term babies they have been shown to result in softer and more frequent stools, and create an intestinal flora similar to that found in breast-fed infants" concluded Professor Moro.

The study also shows a 63 per cent reduction in recurrent wheezing (from 20.6 per cent to 7.6 per cent), an 85 per cent reduction in allergic urticaria (from 10.3 per cent to 1.5 per cent) and a reduction by a third in upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) (3.2 per infant to 2.1 per infant).

Breastfeeding remains the best form of nutrition for infants, providing natural insurance against the risk of allergy and common childhood infections. But for many mothers who cannot, or choose not to breastfeed, this research suggests that using formula milk enriched with prebiotic oligosaccharides can help boost their babies' resistance to common allergic reactions and infections.