Anti-candida And Microbiota Properties Of Breastmilk

• Main Author: Nisaa, Azka Ainun
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: 2023
• Subjects: T1-995 Technology(General)
• Online Access: http://eprints.usm.my/60314/1/AZKA%20AINUN%20NISAA%20-%20TESIS24.pdf; http://eprints.usm.my/60314/
• Institution: Universiti Sains Malaysia

Breast milk has been reported to exert a beneficial effect in countering a variety of infections that has been exposed to the mother during her life, because antibodies are transferred to breast milk via mammary glands, a branching epithelial structure, consisting of milk-transporting lactiferous ducts and alveoli. While vaginal infections may occur randomly in women, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that pregnant women had a higher prevalence, which increased the risk of preterm and systemic infections in the newborn (CDC, 2022). Vaginal infections remain a major concern in obstetrics and gynecology because it has been shown that the mother's vaginal microbiota can pass directly to the baby after vaginal delivery. This study aimed to investigate the different immunological, antimicrobial properties and microbiota profiles of breast milk from women with (W) or without (WO) vaginal yeast infections during pregnancy in 85 lactating women (W, n= 43; WO, n= 42). Immuno-modulatory properties of breast milk which was determined by commercial enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent assay (ELISA) had shown that concentrations of IL-10, IgA, IgM, IgG, EGF, and TGF-α were similar in both groups. However, breast milk of women aged below 31 years old from the W-group showed higher concentration of EGF than the WO-group (p=0.031). Inhibitory activity of breast milk against vaginal Candida was performed via aggregation and growth inhibition of yeast cells. Breast milk from WO-group exhibited higher anti-Candida properties than W-group (p<0.001).