Metabonomics in neonatal nutrition research

Abstract

Maternal obesity and early post-natal nutrition might associate with increased obesity risk in later life. We have investigated the effect of breastfeeding and infant formulas differing in protein content on the urinary and fecal metabolism of term infants born from overweight and obese mothers using a metabonomic approach. Metabolic differences were observed between breast and formula fed infants both in urine and stool samples. Metabolic profiles of formula fed infants exhibited a distinct metabolic pattern that was associated with the processing of dietary proteins from the host and the gut microbiota. Metabonomics appears as a powerful tool to measure the physiological response to infant formula versus the gold standard breastfeeding. In future, nutritional phenotyping will combine metabonomics and nutritional profiling to study specific nutritional requirements and measure the efficacy of tailored nutritional interventions on growth and development endpoints. It will then open novel opportunities to develop targeted nutritional solutions for health maintenance and disease prevention.

Proceedings of the 11^th International Workshop on Neonatology and Satellite Meetings · Cagliari (Italy) · October 26^th-31^st, 2015 · From the womb to the adult
Guest Editors: Vassilios Fanos (Cagliari, Italy), Michele Mussap (Genoa, Italy), Antonio Del Vecchio (Bari, Italy), Bo Sun (Shanghai, China), Dorret I. Boomsma (Amsterdam, the Netherlands), Gavino Faa (Cagliari, Italy), Antonio Giordano (Philadelphia, USA)