Bioactive Components of Human Milk Including HMOs and Other Prebiotics

Human breast milk is comprised of several bioactive components, including human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs), which are non-nutritive carbohydrates unique to human milk. In this live webcast, Lars Bode, PhD, introduces HMOs and describes the structure, composition, and infant health benefits of these compounds. Topics include the prebiotic effects of HMOs, particularly related to the gastrointestinal and immune systems, but also growth and development and allergies. Also reviewed are the oligosaccharides found in infant formulas, with a focus on clinically relevant information that may help to guide counseling and decision making for parents.

This live event took place Thursday, October 7, 2021. Credit may be claimed through October 14, 2021.

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  Lars Bode, PhD

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  Lars Bode, PhD, is a professor of pediatrics in the Division of Neonatology and the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). Dr. Bode earned his PhD degree from the Justus-Liebig University in Giessen, Germany. He completed a fellowship in immunology at Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital and University College’s Institute of Child Health in London, England, and a fellowship in glycobiology at the Burnham Institute for Medical Research in La Jolla, California.

  Dr. Bode is the Endowed Chair of Collaborative Human Milk Research and founding director of the Family-Larsson Rosenquist Mother-Milk-Infant Center of Research Excellence at UCSD. The Center’s mission is to advance the understanding of human milk by fostering collaborative investigation across research, education and clinical practice to improve the health of infants, mothers, and society as a whole.

  Dr. Bode’s research focuses on human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) including which maternal factors influence the composition of HMOs and how they impact the health and development of the breast-fed infant and, potentially, the breast-feeding mother.

  Most recently, Dr. Bode’s research has involved several studies related to the coronavirus pandemic and breastfeeding. As part of the research center’s COVID-19 emergency response, Dr. Bode and his colleagues were able to show that the coronavirus is not transmitted via human milk and therefore breast-feeding is safe during the pandemic. In addition, studies show that the breast milk of women who have recovered from COVID-19 offers a source of COVID-19 antibodies.

  The results of Dr. Bode’s research have been published extensively, and according to a Stanford University database of standardized citation indications, he is in the top two percent of the most cited scientists in the world in the “Nutrition and Dietetics” category.

   

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  Lars Bode, PhD

  Professor of Pediatrics
  University of California, San Diego
  Endowed Chair of Collaborative Human Milk Research and Director
  Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation Mother-Milk-Infant Center of Research Excellence (LRF MOMI CORE)
  University of California, San Diego