title: Clinical impact of human breast milk metabolomics.
abstract: Metabolomics is a research field concerned with the analysis of metabolome, the complete set of metabolites in a given cell, tissue, or biological sample. Being able to provide a molecular snapshot of biological systems, metabolomics has emerged as a functional methodology in a wide range of research areas such as toxicology, pharmacology, food technology, nutrition, microbial biotechnology, systems biology, and plant biotechnology. In this review, we emphasize the applications of metabolomics in investigating the human breast milk (HBM) metabolome. HBM is the recommended source of nutrition for infants since it contains the optimal balance of nutrients for developing babies, and it provides a range of benefits for growth, immunity, and development. The molecular mechanisms beyond the inter- and intra-variability of HBM that make its composition unique are yet to be well-characterized. Although still in its infancy, the study of HBM metabolome has already proven itself to be of great value in providing insights into this biochemical variability in relation to mother phenotype, diet, disease, and lifestyle. The results of these investigations lay the foundation for further developments useful to identify normal and aberrant biochemical changes as well as to develop strategies to promote healthy infant feeding practices.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Geological Sciences, University of Cagliari, Cittadella Universitaria, SS 554, km 4.5, Monserrato, 09042 Cagliari, Italy. Electronic address: flaminia@unica.it.
authors.forename: Flaminia
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cesare Marincola
authors.affiliation: Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Puericulture Institute and Neonatal Section, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria, University of Cagliari, SS 554, km 4.5, Monserrato, 09042 Cagliari, Italy.
authors.forename: Angelica
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dessì
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Geological Sciences, University of Cagliari, Cittadella Universitaria, SS 554, km 4.5, Monserrato, 09042 Cagliari, Italy.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Corbu
authors.affiliation: Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Puericulture Institute and Neonatal Section, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria, University of Cagliari, SS 554, km 4.5, Monserrato, 09042 Cagliari, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Reali
authors.affiliation: Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Puericulture Institute and Neonatal Section, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria, University of Cagliari, SS 554, km 4.5, Monserrato, 09042 Cagliari, Italy.
authors.forename: Vassilios
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Fanos
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D055432:Metabolomics; D008895:Milk, Human / Q000378:metabolism*
keywords: Human breast milk; Mass spectrometry; Metabolomics; NMR spectroscopy