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Breast‐Milk IgA and Lactoferrin Survival in the Gastrointestinal Tract–a Study in Rural Gambian Children
Author(s) -
PRENTICE A.,
MacCARTHY A.,
STIRLING D. M.,
VASQUEZVELASQUEZ L.,
CEESAY S. M.
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
acta pædiatrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1651-2227
pISSN - 0803-5253
DOI - 10.1111/j.1651-2227.1989.tb17928.x
Subject(s) - lactoferrin , breast milk , physiology , medicine , feces , breast feeding , large intestine , immune system , small intestine , gastrointestinal tract , immunology , excretion , biology , microbiology and biotechnology , pediatrics , biochemistry , genetics
. The survival of breast‐milk secretory‐IgA and lactoferrin has been investigated in 23 Gambian children aged 1.5, 3 and 17 months. Endogenous excretion of these immune proteins was measured in 7 weaned 34‐month‐old children. Defaecation rate was the prime determinant of faecal secretory‐IgA and lactoferrin outputs, indicating that partial degradation occurs in the large intestine. Calculations showed that at least 30 % of IgA and 2 % of lactoferrin ingested from breast‐milk must survive in the small intestine. Variations in faecal immune protein outputs were related to differences in intake and defaecation rate and were not affected by age or solid food consumption. The raised faecal outputs of 5 children with diarrhoea were a consequence of their high stool frequencies. IgA disappearance in the large intestine proceeded twice as fast in Gambian breast‐fed children as in comparable Cambridge infants, suggesting that differences in gut flora may influence IgA survival. Thus breast‐feeding, irrespective of age or additional food, can deliver significant quantities of these antimicrobial proteins to the small intestine but differences in defaecation rate and gut flora may affect their protective potential in the large intestine.