TY - JOUR

T1 - Construction of a Synthetic Colostrum Substitute and Its Protection of Intestinal Cells against Inflammation in an In Vitro Model of Necrotizing Enterocolitis

AU - Binte Abu Bakar, Syaza Y.

AU - Salim, Malinda

AU - Clulow, Andrew J.

AU - Seibt, Susanne

AU - Landersdorfer, Cornelia B.

AU - Geddes, Donna T.

AU - Nicholas, Kevin R.

AU - Boyd, Ben J.

N1 - Funding Information: The SAXS studies were conducted on the SAXS/WAXS beamline at the Australian Synchrotron, part of ANSTO, VIC, Australia. The study was funded by the Australian Research Council under the Discovery Projects program (DP160102906), and A.J.C. was the recipient of a Discovery Early Career Research Award (DE190100531) during the time this work was performed. The authors acknowledge the University of Western Australia for the donation of the human colostrum samples and the Mercy Health Breastmilk Bank for the donation of the human milk samples and preterm infant formula used in this study. Publisher Copyright: © 2023 American Chemical Society.

PY - 2023

Y1 - 2023

N2 - Colostrum provides bioactive components that are essential for the colonization of microbiota in the infant gut, while preventing infectious diseases such as necrotizing enterocolitis. As colostrum is not always available from the mother, particularly for premature infants, effective and safe substitutes are keenly sought after by neonatologists. The benefits of bioactive factors in colostrum are recognized; however, there have been no accounts of human colostrum being studied during digestion of the lipid components or their self-assembly in gastrointestinal environments. Due to the weaker bile pool in infants than adults, evaluating the lipid composition of human colostrum and linking it to structural self-assembly behavior is important in these settings and thus enabling the formulation of substitutes for colostrum. This study is aimed at the rational design of an appropriate lipid component for a colostrum substitute and determining the ability of this formulation to reduce inflammation in intestinal cells. Gas chromatography was utilized to map lipid composition. The self-assembly of lipid components occurring during digestion of colostrum was monitored using small-angle X-ray scattering for comparison with substitute mixtures containing pure triglyceride lipids based on their abundance in colostrum. The digestion profiles of human colostrum and the substitute mixtures were similar. Subtle differences in lipid self-assembly were evident, with the substitute mixtures exhibiting additional non-lamellar phases, which were not seen for human colostrum. The difference is attributable to the distribution of free fatty acids released during digestion. The biological markers of necrotizing enterocolitis were modulated in cells that were treated with bifidobacteria cultured on colostrum substitute mixtures, compared to those treated with infant formula. These findings provide an insight into a colostrum substitute mixture that resembles human colostrum in terms of composition and structural behavior during digestion and potentially reduces some of the characteristics associated with necrotizing enterocolitis.

AB - Colostrum provides bioactive components that are essential for the colonization of microbiota in the infant gut, while preventing infectious diseases such as necrotizing enterocolitis. As colostrum is not always available from the mother, particularly for premature infants, effective and safe substitutes are keenly sought after by neonatologists. The benefits of bioactive factors in colostrum are recognized; however, there have been no accounts of human colostrum being studied during digestion of the lipid components or their self-assembly in gastrointestinal environments. Due to the weaker bile pool in infants than adults, evaluating the lipid composition of human colostrum and linking it to structural self-assembly behavior is important in these settings and thus enabling the formulation of substitutes for colostrum. This study is aimed at the rational design of an appropriate lipid component for a colostrum substitute and determining the ability of this formulation to reduce inflammation in intestinal cells. Gas chromatography was utilized to map lipid composition. The self-assembly of lipid components occurring during digestion of colostrum was monitored using small-angle X-ray scattering for comparison with substitute mixtures containing pure triglyceride lipids based on their abundance in colostrum. The digestion profiles of human colostrum and the substitute mixtures were similar. Subtle differences in lipid self-assembly were evident, with the substitute mixtures exhibiting additional non-lamellar phases, which were not seen for human colostrum. The difference is attributable to the distribution of free fatty acids released during digestion. The biological markers of necrotizing enterocolitis were modulated in cells that were treated with bifidobacteria cultured on colostrum substitute mixtures, compared to those treated with infant formula. These findings provide an insight into a colostrum substitute mixture that resembles human colostrum in terms of composition and structural behavior during digestion and potentially reduces some of the characteristics associated with necrotizing enterocolitis.

KW - human colostrum

KW - intestinal epithelial cells

KW - lipids

KW - necrotizing enterocolitis

KW - small-angle X-ray scattering

U2 - 10.1021/acsami.3c05012

DO - 10.1021/acsami.3c05012

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 37480336

AN - SCOPUS:85166442149

VL - 15

SP - 35847

EP - 35859

JO - ACS applied materials & interfaces

JF - ACS applied materials & interfaces

SN - 1944-8244

IS - 30

ER -