Abstract
BackgroundHuman milk possesses bacteriostatic properties, largely due to the presence of immunological proteins. Heat treatments such as Holder pasteurization reduce the concentration of immunological proteins in human milk and consequently increase the bacterial growth rate. This study investigated the bacterial growth rate and the immunological protein concentration of ultraviolet (UV-C) irradiated, Holder pasteurized and untreated human milk.MethodsSamples (n=10) of untreated, Holder pasteurized and UV-C irradiated human milk were inoculated with E. coli and S. aureus and the growth rate over 2 hours incubation time at 37°C was observed. Additionally, the concentration of sIgA, lactoferrin and lysozyme of untreated and treated human milk was analyzed.ResultsThe bacterial growth rate of untreated and UV-C irradiated human milk was not significantly different. The bacterial growth rate of Holder pasteurized human milk was double compared to untreated human milk (p<0.001). The retention of sIgA, lactoferrin and lysozyme after UV-C irradiation was 89%, 87%, and 75% respectively, which were higher than Holder treated with 49%, 9%, and 41% respectively.ConclusionUV-C irradiation of human milk preserves significantly higher levels of immunological proteins than Holder pasteurization, resulting in bacteriostatic properties similar to those of untreated human milk.
Highlights
Human milk inhibits the growth of Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Candida sp. [1,2]
This study investigated the effect of UV-C irradiation on immunological proteins and the bacteriostatic properties of human milk, compared with the current Holder pasteurization method
In order to evaluate the impact of different milk treatments on bacterial growth, we assessed the growth rate of E. coli and S. aureus during 2 hours of incubation by sampling at inoculation and 2 hours post incubation at 37°C in untreated human milk and pasteurized with UV-C and Holder
Summary
Human milk inhibits the growth of Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Candida sp. [1,2]. Human milk inhibits the growth of Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Candida sp. The bacteriostatic properties of human milk are often attributed to the immunological proteins including lactoferrin, lysozyme and sIgA [3]. While lysozyme alone is bacteriostatic, an in vitro study showed that in presence of lactoferrin it is bactericidal and can kill several gram-negative bacteria. Human milk possesses bacteriostatic properties, largely due to the presence of immunological proteins. Heat treatments such as Holder pasteurization reduce the concentration of immunological proteins in human milk and increase the bacterial growth rate. This study investigated the bacterial growth rate and the immunological protein concentration of ultraviolet (UV-C) irradiated, Holder pasteurized and untreated human milk
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