Journal of Neonatal Biology

Abstract

?Human Milk Component (HMC) Therapy?: A Novel Treatment for Gut Maturation of Preterm Infants

Patki Satish Manohar, Mali Vajay Tukaram, Patki Ujwala Satish, Patki Shweta Satish and Patil Uday Sarjerao

Even though the process of gut maturation starts right from intrauterine life, it really gets accelerated only after birth through enteral route. The preterm infants as well as infants with intrauterine growth restriction and those who had absent or reversed umbilical cord flow during their intrauterine stay are the candidates to have immature gut. They are also prone to the complications like feeding intolerance and necrotizing enterocolities. It is well established that the human milk due to the presence of growth factors and cellular components, play important role in the process of gut maturation. With this background, we have hypothesised and proposed the concept of Human Milk Component (HMC) isolation and therapy for gut maturation in preterm infants. The aqueous fraction of human milk rich in growth factors and bioactive substances and the cellular fraction rich in different kinds of cells including mesenchymal stem cells are isolated. They are given through the feeding tube to the infants with immature gut. The aqueous component of human milk acts by a passive mechanism while the cellular component acts by an active mechanism. This concept further strengthens the importance of human milk.