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Breastfeeding stimulates total and cow’s milk‐specific salivary IgA in infants
Author(s) -
Piirainen Laura,
Pesola Jouni,
Pesola Ilkka,
Komulainen Jorma,
Vaarala Outi
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
pediatric allergy and immunology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.269
H-Index - 89
eISSN - 1399-3038
pISSN - 0905-6157
DOI - 10.1111/j.1399-3038.2008.00776.x
Subject(s) - breastfeeding , medicine , saliva , breast milk , breast feeding , immunoglobulin a , infant formula , antibody , milk protein , physiology , immunology , immunoglobulin g , food science , biology , pediatrics , biochemistry
Breastfeeding may increase the rate of mucosal maturation and IgA production. We sought to determine the effect of breastfeeding vs. formula‐feeding on the maturation of oral mucosa by measuring the salivary total antibodies and cow’s milk protein‐specific IgA. Fifty‐eight saliva samples were collected from 39 healthy, full term infants. At the age of 3 months (n = 25) eight infants received only breast milk and seventeen formula (cow’s milk based n = 10, hydrolysed n = 7) and breast milk; and at the age of 6 months (n = 33) eleven received breast milk, seventeen formula and breast milk and five were not breastfed any more (cow’s milk based n = 14, hydrolysed n = 8). Total IgA, IgG, IgM and protein, and β‐lactoglobulin specific IgA were measured from saliva with enzyme‐linked immunoassay (ELISA). The antibody results were proportioned to total protein. No differences in antibody levels between the feeding groups were found at 3 months of age. At 6 months, total IgA, total IgM and β‐lactoglobulin‐specific IgA were higher among the breastfed infants compared to those receiving formula as supplement to breast milk or not breastfed any more (breast milk vs. any formula p = 0.029, p = 0.015, p = 0.058; breast milk vs. cow’s milk formula p = 0.025, p = 0.044, p = 0.038). To conclude, breastfeeding stimulated the mucosal immune system to produce IgA to saliva, which is a marker for immunological maturation and likely provides protection against environmental antigens.