Abstract
Holder pasteurization (62. 5°C for 30 min) is recommended by all international human milk bank guidelines to prevent infections potentially transmitted by donor human milk. A drawback is that it affects some human milk bioactive and nutritive components. Recently, High Temperature-Short Time (HTST) pasteurization has been reported to be a valuable alternative technology to increase the retention of some biological features of human milk. Nevertheless, to date, few data are available about the impact of pasteurization methods other than Holder on the antiviral activity of human milk. The present study was aimed at evaluating the antiviral activity of human milk against a panel of viral pathogens common in newborns and children (i.e., herpes simplex virus 1 and 2, cytomegalovirus, respiratory syncytial virus, rotavirus, and rhinovirus), and at assessing the effect of Holder and HTST pasteurization on milk's antiviral properties. The results indicate that human milk is endowed with antiviral activity against all viruses tested, although to a different extent. Unlike the Holder pasteurization, HTST preserved the inhibitory activity against cytomegalovirus, respiratory syncytial virus, rotavirus and herpes simplex virus type 2. By contrast, both methods reduced significantly the antiviral activities against rhinovirus and herpes simplex virus type 1. Unexpectedly, Holder pasteurization improved milk's anti-rotavirus activity. In conclusion, this study contributes to the definition of the pasteurization method that allows the best compromise between microbiological safety and biological quality of the donor human milk: HTST pasteurization preserved milk antiviral activity better than Holder.
Highlights
A mother’s own milk is the first choice for improving the short- and long-term outcomes for all newborns, including preterm infants [1, 2]
This paper reports on the antiviral activity of raw milk and investigates the impact of two pasteurization techniques on such biological property
The first set of experiments was dedicated to assess the antiviral activity of two Human milk (HM) raw milk pools against a panel of viral pathogens causing diseases in newborns and children, and representing different viral structures and families: enveloped DNA viruses, as herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1), HSV2, and Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) (Herpesviridae family); enveloped RNA viruses, as respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) (Paramyxoviridae family); naked single strand RNA virus, as HRhV (Picornaviridae family); naked double strand RNA virus, as HRoV (Reoviridae family)
Summary
A mother’s own milk is the first choice for improving the short- and long-term outcomes for all newborns, including preterm infants [1, 2]. Human milk (HM) can be considered a species-specific dynamic biological system, known to encompass many kinds of biological functions, including antimicrobial and antiviral properties [2]. The vast majority of herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) infections are oral-labial herpes and they are mainly transmitted by oral-to-oral contact. Neonatal herpes can occur when an infant is exposed to herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV-2) in the genital tract during delivery. The risk for neonatal herpes is greatest when a mother acquires HSV infection for the first time in late pregnancy [8]. Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is another herpesvirus, responsible for the most common congenital infection worldwide, affecting 1 out of every 150 live-born infants worldwide [9]
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