Human Milk Oligosaccharides - just sugar or nature’s secret weapon?

In this video Prof. Clemens Kunz from the Institute of Nutritional Sciences Giessen in Germany talks about the latest research on human milk oligosaccharides.

Besides lactose and fat, human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) belong to the third most abundant group of milk components. Their monosaccharide composition and linkages are rather unique. Hence, HMOs are currently the most important nutritional gap between human milk and infant formula. Today, we are at the beginning of a new era as the large scale production of HMOs is possible and clinical studies are currently performed.

His studies reveal new insights into the metabolism of neu¬tral HMO in exclusively breastfed infants and there are obviously multiple factors influencing HMO metabolism and functions which should be considered in future in vivo investigations.