Abstract
While human milk is the optimal food for infants, formulas that contain ruminant milk can have an important role where breastfeeding is not possible. In this regard, cow milk is most commonly used. However, recent years have brought interest in other ruminant milk. While many similarities exist between ruminant milk, there are likely enough compositional differences to promote different effects in the infant. This may include effects on different bacteria in the large bowel, leading to different metabolites in the gut. In this study sheep and cow milk were digested using an in vitro infant digestive model, followed by fecal fermentation using cultures inoculated with fecal material from two infants of one month and five months of age. The effects of the cow and sheep milk on the fecal microbiota, short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), and other metabolites were investigated. Significant differences in microbial, SCFA, and metabolite composition were observed between fermentation of sheep and cow milk using fecal inoculum from a one-month-old infant, but comparatively minimal differences using fecal inoculum from a five-month-old infant. These results show that sheep milk and cow milk can have differential effects on the gut microbiota, while demonstrating the individuality of the gut microbiome.
Highlights
Recent years have brought renewed interest in alternative milk such as sheep, goat, and camel milk as a substitute for cow milk in the diet, both for adults and infants [1,2,3]
As bacteria produce many other products such as organic acids and alcohols, which may be affected by the difference in the substrate, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy was used to detect and quantify other highly abundant metabolites produced during fermentation
A three-stage process designed to simulate the gastrointestinal processing of sheep milk and cow milk by an infant was used to assess the differences induced by the two types of milk on the composition and metabolism of the fecal microbiome
Summary
Recent years have brought renewed interest in alternative milk such as sheep, goat, and camel milk as a substitute for cow milk in the diet, both for adults and infants [1,2,3]. A key shift in the infant microbiome occurs with the transition of human infants from mother’s milk to other mammal’s milk and eventually onto solid food This diet transition is characterized by a shift in microbial composition towards species that are able to utilize the dominant contents of the new food type [11]. Sheep milk has several physicochemical and nutritional characteristics that distinguish it from cow milk, in terms of protein, solids, lipids, and vitamins and minerals [4,5] Feeding these milk for longer periods of time may affect both the microbiome and the body differently [12]. As bacteria produce many other products such as organic acids and alcohols, which may be affected by the difference in the substrate, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy was used to detect and quantify other highly abundant metabolites produced during fermentation
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