Center for Human Nutrition, David Geffen School of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.
Food Funct. 2022 May 23;13(10):5680-5689. doi: 10.1039/d2fo00280a.
Pomegranate juice (PomJ) contains ellagitannins (ETs) that are metabolized to ellagic acid (EA). Intestinal bacteria convert EA further to urolithins that are absorbed into the circulation and may provide health benefits. PomJ consumption by pregnant women was reported to be neuroprotective for their infants. In order to determine whether EA and metabolites are transferred from breast milk of mothers consuming PomJ to nursing infants, we performed an interventional pilot study and enrolled ten healthy women with full-term, exclusively breast-fed infants, consuming 8 oz. of PomJ daily for two weeks. Breast milk, plasma, urine and stool samples were collected from the mothers and the urine and stool samples from the infants before and after two weeks of PomJ consumption. Samples were analyzed using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry to identify EA metabolites and 16S rRNA sequencing to determine changes in the microbiota. EA metabolite conjugates (dimethyl EA-glucuronide DMEAG and urolithin A-glucuronide UAG) were found in breast milk, plasma and urine from mothers and in urine of infants after 14 days of PomJ consumption. In addition, urolithin B-glucuronide (UBG) was found in breast milk, plasma and urine from two participants and urine from their infants. PomJ consumption was associated with a significant decrease in breast milk of , , and , while the abundance of Firmicutes/ increased significantly. In breast milk / was inversely correlated to breast milk UAG. In infant stools, the abundance of and was increased. Infant stool was positively correlated to breast milk and mother plasma UBG. This pilot study demonstrates that EA and its metabolites are absorbed by the nursing infant from breast milk, excreted in urine and impact the infant gut microbiome. The concentration of EA metabolites in breast milk increased over time. Phenolic compounds in breast milk could be a way to promote neuroprotective, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory health benefits in infants.
石榴汁（PomJ）含有可代谢为鞣花酸（EA）的鞣花单宁（ET）。肠道细菌将 EA 进一步转化为尿石素，这些尿石素被吸收到循环中，可能为健康带来益处。有报道称，孕妇饮用 PomJ 对其婴儿具有神经保护作用。为了确定母亲饮用 PomJ 后是否将 EA 和代谢物从母乳转移到哺乳婴儿，我们进行了一项干预性试点研究，招募了 10 名健康的足月、纯母乳喂养的婴儿的母亲，这些母亲每天饮用 8 盎司的 PomJ，持续两周。在母亲和婴儿饮用 PomJ 两周前后，从母亲处采集母乳、血浆、尿液和粪便样本，从婴儿处采集尿液和粪便样本。使用液相色谱-质谱法分析样本，以鉴定 EA 代谢物和 16S rRNA 测序，以确定微生物群的变化。在母亲的母乳、血浆和尿液以及婴儿的尿液中，14 天后发现了 EA 代谢物轭合物（二甲基 EA-葡糖苷酸 DMEAG 和尿石素 A-葡糖苷酸 UAG）。此外，在两名参与者的母乳、血浆和尿液以及他们婴儿的尿液中发现了尿石素 B-葡糖苷酸（UBG）。PomJ 消费与母亲母乳中 、 、 和 显著减少有关，而厚壁菌门/梭菌纲的丰度显著增加。在母乳中，与母乳 UAG 呈负相关。在婴儿粪便中， 和 的丰度增加。婴儿粪便 与母乳和母亲血浆 UBG 呈正相关。这项试点研究表明，EA 及其代谢物可从母乳中被哺乳婴儿吸收，从尿液中排泄，并影响婴儿肠道微生物组。母乳中 EA 代谢物的浓度随时间推移而增加。母乳中的酚类化合物可能是促进婴儿神经保护、抗氧化和抗炎健康益处的一种方式。
