The effect of breastmilk and saliva combinations on the in vitro growth of oral pathogenic and commensal microorganisms.

ABSTRACT: Neonates are exposed to microbes in utero and at birth, thereby establishing their microbiota (healthy microbial colonisers). Previously, we reported significant differences in the neonatal oral microbiota of breast-fed and formula-fed babies after first discovering a primal metabolic mechanism that occurs when breastmilk (containing the enzyme xanthine oxidase) and neonatal saliva (containing highly elevated concentrations of the substrates for xanthine oxidase: xanthine and hypoxanthine). The interaction of neonatal saliva and breast milk releases antibacterial compounds including hydrogen peroxide, and regulates the growth of bacteria. Using a novel in vitro experimental approach, the current study compared the effects of this unique metabolic pathway on a range of bacterial species and

SUBMITTER: Sweeney EL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6181944 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature