title: Distinct Patterns in Human Milk Microbiota and Fatty Acid Profiles Across Specific Geographic Locations.
abstract: Breast feeding results in long term health benefits in the prevention of communicable and non-communicable diseases at both individual and population levels. Geographical location directly impacts the composition of breast milk including microbiota and lipids. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of geographical location, i.e., Europe (Spain and Finland), Africa (South Africa), and Asia (China), on breast milk microbiota and lipid composition in samples obtained from healthy mothers after the 1 month of lactation. Altogether, 80 women (20 from each country) participated in the study, with equal number of women who delivered by vaginal or cesarean section from each country. Lipid composition particularly that of polyunsaturated fatty acids differed between the countries, with the highest amount of n-6 PUFA (25.6%) observed in the milk of Chinese women. Milk microbiota composition also differed significantly between the countries (p= 0.002). Among vaginally delivered women, Spanish women had highest amount of Bacteroidetes (mean relative abundance of 3.75) whereas Chinese women had highest amount of Actinobacteria (mean relative abundance 5.7). Women who had had a cesarean section had higher amount of Proteobacteria as observed in the milk of the Spanish and South African women. Interestingly, the Spanish and South African women had significantly higher bacterial genes mapped to lipid, amino acid and carbohydrate metabolism (p< 0.05). Association of the lipid profile with the microbiota revealed that monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) were negatively associated with Proteobacteria (r= -0.43,p< 0.05), whileLactobacillusgenus was associated with MUFA (r= -0.23,p= 0.04). These findings reveal that the milk microbiota and lipid composition exhibit differences based on geographical locations in addition to the differences observed due to the mode of delivery.
authors: Functional Foods Forum, Faculty of Medicine, University of Turku Turku, Finland.
authors: Himanshu
authors: H
authors: Kumar
authors: Division of Medical Microbiology, Department of Pathology, University of Cape Town Cape Town, South Africa.
authors: Elloise
authors: E
authors: du Toit
authors: Food Chemistry and Food Development, Department of Biochemistry, University of Turku Turku, Finland.
authors: Amruta
authors: A
authors: Kulkarni
authors: Functional Foods Forum, Faculty of Medicine, University of TurkuTurku, Finland; Food Chemistry and Food Development, Department of Biochemistry, University of TurkuTurku, Finland.
authors: Juhani
authors: J
authors: Aakko
authors: Food Chemistry and Food Development, Department of Biochemistry, University of Turku Turku, Finland.
authors: Kaisa M
authors: KM
authors: Linderborg
authors: Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, School of Public Health, Peking University Beijing, China.
authors: Yumei
authors: Y
authors: Zhang
authors: Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape TownCape Town, South Africa; National Health Laboratory Service of South Africa, Groote Schuur HospitalCape Town, South Africa.
authors: Mark P
authors: MP
authors: Nicol
authors: Department of Pediatrics, University of Turku Turku, Finland.
authors: Erika
authors: E
authors: Isolauri
authors: Food Chemistry and Food Development, Department of Biochemistry, University of Turku Turku, Finland.
authors: Baoru
authors: B
authors: Yang
authors: Functional Foods Forum, Faculty of Medicine, University of TurkuTurku, Finland; Institute of Agrochemistry and Food Technology, National Research Council (IATA-CSIC)Valencia, Spain.
authors: Maria C
authors: MC
authors: Collado
authors: Functional Foods Forum, Faculty of Medicine, University of Turku Turku, Finland.
authors: Seppo
authors: S
authors: Salminen
keywords: delivery; fatty acids; geography; human milk; microbiome