Find the antibacterial sugar in breast milk

Scientists have found a "sweet" way to help babies fight against Group B streptococcus: a type of sugar found in breast milk.

This result was published in the journal ACS Infectious Diseases and was presented at the annual meeting of the American Chemical Society.

Accordingly, the sugar in breastmilk may have helped the baby's body control group B streptococcus, helping them to limit infection during the early days of care.

The goal of scientists is now to determine which types of sugars play a major role in this process, and then rely on them to transform into an extremely valuable new antibiotic.

This type of antibiotic is expected to solve some of the most difficult medical problems such as destroying the sustainability of certain bacteria by using existing antibiotics.

However, one of the interesting findings in research is the diversity of the influence of breast milk from different sources.

A type of sugar in breast milk can help the body fight against group B streptococcus - (Photo: Istockphoto).

Chemist Steven Townsend from Vanderbilt University, USA, and his colleagues collected samples of breast milk from five different women. After the extraction of sugar mixture in each of these breastmilk, the team mixed them with water to achieve the same ratio as in normal breast milk.

The scientists then placed them in the laboratory plates together with streptococcus agalactiae - a group B streptococcus.

As a result, of the five samples, one type of sugar in breast milk is particularly powerful against bacteria by fighting its nesting and cloning process. Another sample showed moderate effects on bacteria, while the other three samples were not effective.

According to scientists, each type of sugar of a person depends on the concentration of the enzyme glycosyltransferase - the enzyme has the role of forming bonds in the sugar molecule, and the variety of proteins that help form the sugar.

Each of these protein groups is made up of special chromosomes in each person.

However, this is only the original difference. In addition to sugar, the remaining substances in breast milk also have differences between women mothers.

The reason for this difference is unknown, but the body and diet and even the fact that women are raising boys or girls can be the cause.

In addition, in a body, breastmilk has also varied, transformed over months, over many days, even in just a few minutes.

For example, breastmilk is usually fat for about an hour and a half after breastfeeding. And the milk that the mother breastfeeds for more than 7 months is very different from the first months because of the lower rates of zinc, copper and potassium.