Department of Nutrition, School of Public Health and Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, 01003, USA.
School of Human Nutrition, McGill University, Ste. Anne de Bellevue, QC, H9X 3V9, Canada.
J Ethnopharmacol. 2021 Oct 28;279:114377. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2021.114377. Epub 2021 Jun 27.
Evidence of phytochemical roles in infant development and maternal recovery offers insights into beneficial functions of traditional plant use during lactation and the postpartum period. Ethnopharmacological research has relevance to global priorities on maternal and child health, to understanding origins and determinants of human self-medication, and for reconciling traditional postpartum practices and mainstream healthcare.
Present emerging evidence, within evolutionary and socio-cultural contexts, on the role of maternal consumption on transfer of phytochemicals into breast milk with impacts on maternal and child health, and on infant development. Establish current state of knowledge and an ethnopharmacological research agenda that is attentive to cross-cultural and regional differences in postpartum plant use.
An extensive literature review using Medline, Scopus, and Web of Science focused on traditional and contemporary use and socio-cultural context, as well as physiological, pharmacological, toxicological, and behavioral activities of plants used medicinally by women during postpartum recovery and lactation.
The most widely reported postpartum plants show antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, immunological, and neurophysiological activities, with low toxicity. Phytochemicals transfer from maternal consumption into breast milk in physiological concentrations, while animal studies demonstrate immunomodulation and other actions of medicinal plants during lactation. Reporting on the use and diverse traditional knowledge of women about plants during the postpartum period is obscured by the marginal place of obstetric issues and by gender biases in ethnobotanical research. In many contemporary contexts use is prejudiced by precautionary risk warnings in health literature and practice that confound lactation with pregnancy.
Although systematic investigation of postpartum plant use is lacking, known pharmacological activities support potential benefits on infant development and maternal health with immediate and long-term consequences in relation to allergic, inflammatory, autoimmune, and other diseases. An ethnopharmacological agenda focused on the perinatal period requires directed methodologies and a regional approach in relation to culturally-specific knowledge and practices, traditional plant use, and local health needs. Testing the hypothesis that phytochemicals transferred from medicinal plants into breast milk impact the human immune system and other aspects of infant development requires extended analysis of phytochemicals in human milk and infant lumen and plasma, as well as effects on gastrointestinal and milk microbiome.
植物化学成分在婴儿发育和产妇康复中的作用的证据，为哺乳期和产后期间传统植物使用的有益功能提供了见解，包括理解人类自我医疗的起源和决定因素，以及调和传统产后实践和主流医疗保健。
在进化和社会文化背景下，展示关于母体消费对植物化学成分转移到母乳中的作用的新兴证据，这些作用对母婴健康和婴儿发育有影响。确定当前的知识状态和民族药理学研究议程，该议程注意到产后植物使用在跨文化和区域差异方面的情况。
使用 Medline、Scopus 和 Web of Science 进行广泛的文献综述，重点关注传统和当代用途以及社会文化背景，以及妇女在产后康复和哺乳期期间使用的药用植物的生理、药理、毒理和行为活动。
最广泛报道的产后植物表现出抗菌、抗炎、免疫和神经生理活性，毒性低。植物化学成分以生理浓度从母体消费转移到母乳中，而动物研究表明，在哺乳期，药用植物具有免疫调节和其他作用。关于妇女在产后期间使用植物的情况和各种传统知识的报告因产科问题的边缘地位和民族植物学研究中的性别偏见而变得模糊不清。在许多当代背景下，健康文献和实践中的预防性风险警告使哺乳期与怀孕混淆，从而对植物使用产生偏见。
尽管缺乏对产后植物使用的系统调查，但已知的药理活性支持对婴儿发育和产妇健康的潜在益处，与过敏、炎症、自身免疫和其他疾病有直接和长期的关系。以围产期为重点的民族药理学议程需要针对特定文化的知识和实践、传统植物使用和当地健康需求，采用定向方法和区域方法。测试从药用植物转移到母乳中的植物化学成分对人类免疫系统和婴儿发育等其他方面产生影响的假设，需要对人乳和婴儿腔室和血浆中的植物化学成分以及对胃肠道和乳汁微生物组的影响进行扩展分析。
