Microbial community dynamics in mother's milk and infant's mouth and gut in moderately preterm infants

Mother's own milk represents the optimal source for preterm infant nutrition, as it promotes immune defenses and gastrointestinal function, protects against necrotizing enterocolitis, improves long-term clinical outcome and is hypothesized to drive gut microbiota assembly. Preterm infants at birth usually do not receive their mother's milk directly from the breast, because active suckling and coordination between suckling, swallowing and breathing do not develop until 32-34 weeks gestational age, but actual breastfeeding is usually possible as they grow older. Here, we enrolled moderately preterm infants (gestational age 32-34 weeks) to longitudinally characterize mothers' milk and infants' gut and oral microbiomes, up to more than 200 days after birth, through 16S rRNA sequencing. This peculiar population offers the chance to disentangle the differential contribution of human milk feeding per se vs. actual breastfeeding in the development of infant microbiomes, that have both been acknowledged as crucial contributors to short and long-term infant health status. In this cohort, the milk microbiome composition seemed to change following the infant's latching to the mother's breast, shifting toward a more diverse microbial community dominated by typical oral microbes, i.e., Streptococcus and Rothia. Even if all infants in the present study were fed human milk, features typical of healthy, full term, exclusively breastfed infants, i.e., high percentages of Bifidobacterium and low abundances of Pseudomonas in fecal and oral samples, respectively, were detected in samples taken after actual breastfeeding started. These findings underline the importance of encouraging not only human milk feeding, but also an early start of actual breastfeeding in preterm infants, since the infant's latching to the mother's breast might constitute an independent factor helping the health-promoting assembly of the infant gut microbiome

A new method to produce synbiotic Fiordilatte cheese

In this study we have formulated a synbiotic Fiordilatte cheese with an edible sodium alginate coating as carrier of probiotic (Lactobacillus rhamnosus) and prebiotic fructo-oligosaccharide substances (FOS). The objectives of this study are the evaluation of the coating technique to entrap the microorganism without altering its vitality and the monitoring of the microorganism vitality during the entire storage period. To these aims, shelf life tests were conducted at three different storage temperatures (4 °C as refrigeration temperature, 9 °C as moderate thermal abuse and 14 °C as thermal abuse) to assess the microbiological, sensory and functional quality of cheese. Therefore, both spoilage and probiotic bacteria were monitored. Results proved that viability of lactic acid bacteria in the functional product remained over the imposed limit (107 CFU/g) for the entire storage period in all the experimental trials with counts accounting for about 4.52 × 107 CFU/g at 4 °C, 3.42 × 107 at 9 °C and 4.62 × 107 at 14 °C. Furthermore, the addition of probiotic and prebiotic substances in the coating provoked a slight antimicrobial effect against Pseudomonas spp. and Enterobacteriaceae that improved the final taste of the product and prolonged its shelf life. Industrial relevance Nowadays consumers' nutritional expectations are growing higher and for this reason food must be healthier and possibly contribute to illness prevention. In this context, probiotics and prebiotics play an important role in the development of functional synbiotic foods. This study could gain industrial relevance because it represents a real case-study to develop a symbiotic cheese

Packaging optimisation to prolong the shelf life of fiordilatte cheese

In this work, an active coating and modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) were investigated to prolong the shelf life of Fiordilatte packaged in traditional brine. First, the screening of MAP was performed in order to select the best gas composition. Then, the combined effect of MAP and coating was investigated. Finally, the coating was loaded with potassium sorbate and its effects under MAP conditions were also assessed. Results highlighted that MAP was able to control growth of the main spoilage microbial group (Pseudomonas spp.); however, the solubilisation of carbon dioxide into the brine compromised Fiordilatte texture. Therefore, the presence of the active coating avoided the damage of gas solubilisation and promoted a shelf life prolongation by about 157

Twelve-Week Daily Consumption of ad hoc Fortified Milk with \u3c9-3, D, and Group B Vitamins Has a Positive Impact on Inflammaging Parameters: A Randomized Cross-Over Trial.

Background and aim: A state of chronic, subclinical inflammation known as inflammaging is present in elderly people and represents a risk factor for all age-related diseases. Dietary supplementation with ad hoc fortified foods seems an appealing strategy to counteract inflammaging. The purpose of this study was to test the efficacy of elderly-tailored fortified milk on inflammaging and different health parameters. Methods: A double-blind randomized cross-over study was performed on forty-eight volunteers aged 63-80 years. The fortified milk was enriched with \u3c9-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (eicosapentaenoic acid, EPA; docosahexaenoic acid, DHA), vitamins (25-hydroxyvitamin D, E, C, B6, B9, B12), and trace elements (zinc, selenium). The two intervention periods lasted for 12 weeks, with a 16-week washout intermission. Results: Compared to placebo, the consumption of fortified milk increased the circulating levels of different micronutrients, including vitamins and the \u3c9-3 index of erythrocyte membranes. Conversely, it reduced the amount of arachidonic acid, homocysteine, and \u3c9-6/\u3c9-3 ratio. Conclusion: Twelve-week daily consumption of adhoc fortified milk has an overall positive impact on different health parameters related to inflammaging in the elderly