Infant feeding is one of the most challenging tasks for new mothers and their children. However, with the proper diet, you can promote a balanced gut flora and a more robust immune system.
According to research, combining probiotics and HMOs can mimic breastmilk’s effects and promote bifidobacteria’s dominance, thereby strengthening the gut environment and immune system.
Human milk oligosaccharides (HMO) are prebiotic carbs that feed beneficial bacteria in your gut. They are sugar chains that the body cannot digest but which good bacteria in the large intestine consume and use to produce a variety of beneficial compounds.
The levels of prebiotics in human breast milk fluctuate throughout lactation, and over a hundred different HMO structures are present. Aside from 2′-fucosyllactose (2’FL), the most common HMOs are lacto-Neotetraose (LNnT), difucosyl lacto-Neotetraose, and 3′-sialyllactose (6’SL).
Variations in HMO levels among breastfed newborns are mainly due to variations in the gene that codes for Fucosyltransferase 2 (FUT2), an enzyme involved in HMO synthesis. Breast milk produced by mothers deficient in this gene contains lower levels of 2’FL and all a-fucosylated oligosaccharides, which can harm infants.
Researchers discovered that the bifidobacteria-rich microbiome of children born with FUT2 deficiency develops later than expected. Furthermore, they have a lower frequency of complex oligosaccharides in their stool, such as difucosyl-LNT and a-fucosyl-6’SL, and are more likely to develop dairy allergies.
The strain mimicked the beneficial metabolites produced by breastfeeding and thus selectively consumed HMOs.
Based on these findings, Nestle researchers discovered that B. infantis LMG11588, a type of bifidobacterium, could effectively absorb and metabolize HMOs. The strain mimicked the beneficial metabolites produced by breastfeeding and thus selectively consumed HMOs.
The result was Sinergity, a revolutionary formula that combined the benefits of this probiotic with those of an HMO. The recipe combines the probiotic strain with varying concentrations of six oligosaccharides in human milk: 2′-FL, LNT, LNnT, 3′-SL, and 6’SL.
These ingredients are combined with a prebiotic inulin base before being spray-dried to create the powder. The final product promotes a diverse gut microbial ecology and can be incorporated into any formula.
The new recipe also includes a Bifidobacterium strain that is highly metabolically active for 2′-FL and other oligosaccharides found in human milk. Preterm infants benefit from a more natural gut flora and unprecedented protection due to these interactions.
The introduction of this novel formulation represents a significant advance in our understanding of the microbiome’s effects on health and how to promote them. This infant formula is groundbreaking because it is the first of its kind to use a proprietary combination of probiotics and HMOs, which aids in the development of a balanced microbiota in the gut and a robust immune system. This stage is critical for laying the groundwork for good health throughout one’s lifetime.
