Céline Cuinat1, Sara E Stinson1, Wendy E Ward1,2, Elena M Comelli3,4,5. 1. Department of Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada. 2. Department of Kinesiology, Faculty of Applied Health Sciences, Brock University, St. Catharines, ON, Canada. 3. Department of Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada. elena.comelli@utoronto.ca. 4. Department of Kinesiology, Faculty of Applied Health Sciences, Brock University, St. Catharines, ON, Canada. elena.comelli@utoronto.ca. 5. Joannah and Brian Lawson Centre for Child Nutrition, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada. elena.comelli@utoronto.ca.
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Probiotics intake may be considered beneficial by prospective and pregnant mothers, but their effects on offspring development are incompletely understood. The purpose of this review was to examine recent pre-clinical and clinical studies to understand how maternal probiotics exposure affects offspring health outcomes. RECENT FINDINGS: Effects were investigated in the context of supporting offspring growth, intestinal health, and gut microbiota, preventing allergic diseases, supporting neurodevelopment, and preventing metabolic disorders in pre-clinical and clinical studies. Most human studies focused on infancy outcomes, whereas pre-clinical studies also examined outcomes at adolescence and young adulthood. While still understudied, both pre-clinical and clinical studies propose epigenetic modifications as an underlying mechanism. Optimal timing of intervention remains unclear. Administration of selected probiotics to mothers has programming potential for sustaining life-long health of offspring. Administration protocols, specific windows of susceptibility, and individual-specific responses need to be further studied.
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Probiotics intake may be considered beneficial by prospective and pregnant mothers, but their effects on offspring development are incompletely understood. The purpose of this review was to examine recent pre-clinical and clinical studies to understand how maternal probiotics exposure affects offspring health outcomes. RECENT FINDINGS: Effects were investigated in the context of supporting offspring growth, intestinal health, and gut microbiota, preventing allergic diseases, supporting neurodevelopment, and preventing metabolic disorders in pre-clinical and clinical studies. Most human studies focused on infancy outcomes, whereas pre-clinical studies also examined outcomes at adolescence and young adulthood. While still understudied, both pre-clinical and clinical studies propose epigenetic modifications as an underlying mechanism. Optimal timing of intervention remains unclear. Administration of selected probiotics to mothers has programming potential for sustaining life-long health of offspring. Administration protocols, specific windows of susceptibility, and individual-specific responses need to be further studied.
Keywords:
Developmental Origins of Health and Disease; Epigenetics; Gut microbiota; Human; Infant; Mouse; Nutritional programming; Pig; Pregnancy; Probiotics; Rabbit; Rat; Sex
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