EVOO phenols transfer from mum to bub via breast milk

The consumption of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) increases the level of phenolic compounds in breast milk and can cross the placental barrier to the offspring.

That’s the outcome of a study by Spanish researchers published recently in the journal Food Chemistry, which showed that diets enriched with EVOO can modify or even increase the content of bioactive compounds in breast milk, with potential benefits for infant health.

The research was carried out on rats as study models, and conduced by a combined team from the Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences of the University of Barcelona (UB), the Institute for Research on Nutrition and Food Safety (INSA-UB) and the Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition Networking Biomedical Research Centre (CIBEROBN).

Background

It is known that breast milk is the best nutrition source for the infants, containing the essential nutrients and bioactive factors (hormones, antibodies, microorganism, stem cells, etc.) for development. Breastfeeding also provides many short- and longterm benefits to both mother and infant; significantly in infants, reducing the incidence of infections and the risk of metabolic disease in the future.

EVOO represents the main source of fat in the Mediterranean diet, but the presence of phenolic compounds from EVOO in breast milk and their availability to infants has to date been unknown.

To investigate, the team assessed the levels of phenolic compounds and their derivates in biological samples of pregnant animals and their offspring after six weeks of a daily intake of EVOO.

Transmission of phenolic compounds

The results showed that phenolic compounds from the diet - specifically those from EVOO - reach the systemic circulation of mothers. Specifically, a number of phenolic compounds and derivates were found in breast milk, with some of the phenolic compounds and their metabolites found in higher concentrations in the offspring plasma than in the mothers’ plasma.

Basis for nutritional interventions

Providing evidence of the opportunity to improve nutritional outcomes for infants, the results open a window to practical and ‘natural’ dietary interventions in the future.

“To date, several studies had described that the composition of breast milk can be affected by biological and environmental factors to which the mother is exposed, such as the mother’s diet. Therefore, the nutritional interventions during pregnancy and the breastfeeding period can have an impact on the quality of breast milk, and consequently, on the infant’s health,” the researchers said.

“Our findings shed light on the importance of the mother’s diet during pregnancy and lactation, and provide the base for future studies on the impact of phenolic compounds on the mother’s and the infant’s health.”

Source: www.eurekalert.org.

Ref: Nutrition during pregnancy and lactation: New evidence for the vertical transmission of extra virgin olive oil phenolic compounds in rats. Food Chemistry, Volume 391, 2022, 133211, www.sciencedirect.com.