Seeding and feeding milestones: the role of human milk microbes and oligosaccharides in the temporal development of infant gut microbiota.

Breastfeeding represents a strong selective factor for shaping the infant gut microbiota. Besides providing nutritional requirements for the infant, human milk is a key source of oligosaccharides, human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs), and diverse microbes in early life. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of human milk microbiota and oligosaccharides on the composition of infant faecal microbiota at one, three, and nine months postpartum.

Methyl-esterification, degree of polymerization and ∆4,5-unsaturation of galacturonic acid oligosaccharides as determinants of immunomodulation.

In recent years, immunomodulation by pectin and pectin-derived galacturonic acid oligosaccharides has been the subject of wide-spread scientific research due to the potential of different pectin structures as bioactive biomolecules. Yet, gaps remain in understanding the structure-dependent immunomodulation of galacturonic acid. This study describes in vitro immunomodulatory effects of well-characterized galacturonic acid oligosaccharides.

Immunostimulatory effects of isomalto/malto-polysaccharides via TLR2 and TLR4 in preventing doxycycline-induced cytokine loss.

Isomalto/malto-polysaccharides (IMMPs) are α-glucans with prebiotic potential used as food ingredients. However, their ability to exert direct cellular effects remains unknown. IMMPs may enhance immunity by activating toll-like receptors (TLRs), key for defense against pathogens.

Citrus pectins impact the function of chicken macrophages.

The restrictions on excessive use of antimicrobials in the poultry industry have led to the search for alternative strategies including nutritional interventions to enhance gut health with the ultimate aim to prevent gut infections. Pectins as prebiotics have shown beneficial effects on gut health in humans and mice by improving the gut barrier function, altering the gut microbiota, and by modulating the gut immune response. However, little is known about immunomodulatory properties of pectins in chickens.

Modulation of soy flour bioactivity against enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli by fermentation with exopolysaccharides-producing lactic acid bacteria.

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC)-mediated diarrhea can be mitigated by inhibiting bacterial adhesion to intestinal surface. Some lactic acid bacteria (LAB) produce exopolysaccharides (EPS) that can inhibit ETEC adhesion. In this study, we fermented soy flour-based dough (SoyD) with EPS-producing LAB strains Pediococcus pentosaceus TL (PpTL), Leuconostoc citreum TR (LcTR), Leuconostoc mesenteroides WA (LmWA) and L.