Fatty acid composition and phospholipid types used in infant formulas modifies the establishment of human gut bacteria in germ-free mice.

ABSTRACT: Human milk fat contains high concentrations of medium-chained fatty acids (MCFA) and triacylglycerols emulsified by a sphingomyelin-rich phospholipid membrane (milk phospholipids, MPL). Infant formula comprises mainly long-chained fatty acids (LCFA) emulsified with dairy proteins and soy lecithin (SL) lacking sphingomyelin. Sphingomyelin content and saturation level of phospholipids affect the gut lipase activity, which alters the concentrations of lipid hydrolysis products in ileum and colon, and hereby putatively affects the competitive advantage of specific gut bacteria. Thus, differences in phospholipid and FA composition may modulate the establishment of the gut microbiota. We investigated effects of fatty acid (FA) composition and emulsification (MPL vs SL) ingested during establishm

SUBMITTER: Nejrup RG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5479857 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature