Immunonutrients and neonates.
The gastrointestinal tract is the largest surface area of the body and the primary site for microorganisms, foreign antigens and toxins to gain entry to the host's internal milieu. The use of enteral feedings enriched with immune-enhancing ingredients is attracting considerable interest because there is increasing application of enteral feeding and appreciation of the role of the gut in the development of infection and of multiple organ failure in critically ill patients.


CONCLUSIONS
in this review, we will discuss nutrients, such as glutamine, arginine, omega 3 fatty acids, nucleotides, probiotics, and lactoferrin, and how they might be used as immunonutrients in neonatal clinics.
Huang
Ying
Y
Children's Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
Shao
Xiao Mei
XM
Children's Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
Neu
Josef
J
Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology, University of Florida College of Medicine, 1600 SW Archer Road, Gainesville, Florida 32610, HD 513 , USA. neuj@peds.ufl.edu.
D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004064:Digestive System / Q000276:immunology*; D004750:Enteral Nutrition / Q000379:methods*; D005973:Glutamine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D007227:Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007363:Intensive Care Units, Neonatal; D007781:Lactoferrin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D019936:Probiotics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D018746:Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome / Q000517:prevention & control*
D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic; D005973:Glutamine; D007781:Lactoferrin