Bovine Milk Oligosaccharides with Sialyllactose Improves Cognition in Preterm Pigs.

ABSTRACT: Optimal nutrition is important after preterm birth to facilitate normal brain development. Human milk is rich in sialic acid and preterm infants may benefit from supplementing formula with sialyllactose to support neurodevelopment. Using pigs as models, we hypothesized that sialyllactose supplementation improves brain development after preterm birth. Pigs (of either sex) were delivered by cesarean section at 90% gestation and fed a milk diet supplemented with either an oligosaccharide-enriched whey with sialyllactose (n = 20) or lactose (n = 20) for 19 days. Cognitive performance was tested in a spatial T-maze. Brains were collected for ex vivo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), gene expression, and sialic acid measurements. For reference, term piglets (n = 14) were artificially reared unde

SUBMITTER: Obelitz-Ryom K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6628371 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature