Study Finds Supplementation with 2′-Fucosyllactose Effective for Preventing Food Allergy

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The supplementation of pregnant mothers with the prominent human milk oligosaccharide known as 2′-Fucosyllactose (2′-FL) has the potential to provide protection against food allergies in one’s offspring, new findings suggest.¹

These new findings align with prior research into 2′-FL in breast milk and its link with reduced allergy risk among infants. The new data result from new research authored in part by A. Rousseaux from Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'alimentation et l'Environnement in Nantes, France.

Rousseaux and colleagues noted that there had not yet been an effective strategy to prevent food allergy. Allergies can take place within the beginning months of life and are linked to the dysfunction of several biological symptoms.²

“For example, human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) can modulate the immune function, reinforce the gut barrier, and shape the gut microbiota of infants,” the investigators wrote. “Besides human milk, these HMOs are found in the blood, urine, and amniotic fluid of pregnant women. Therefore, we hypothesized that a gestational supplementation with 2′-FL, which is the main HMO, would create a specific microbial and immune imprinting, protecting them from [food allergy].”¹

Design Details and Findings

The research team’s hypothesis was tested in a mouse model of allergies to wheat products. They gave pregnant mice either a standard diet or 1 that was supplemented with 2′-FL from conception to birth. Following a period of weaning, the inducing of wheat allergies occurred in female pups of mothers who had followed either of the 2 diets, while non-allergic pups served as a control cohort.

Notably, the investigative team observed that the offspring of mothers who had been given a 2′-FL diet had no food allergy symptoms during the analysis. These offspring, designated the 2′-FL FA arm of the study, had lower allergy scores and were able to maintain stable body temperature. This differed from the control food allergy arm.

Biomarkers for allergy, such as wheat-specific immunoglobulins and mMCP-1, were assessed by the team in the blood samples of the pups. The results indicated lower levels of such markers within the 2′-FL FA arm, which had increased IgG2a secretion—a protective antibody type—relative to the results of the controls.

The investigators then evaluated 2′-FL’s effects on mothers’ and offsprings’ gut microbiota, concluding that major differences in mothers’ microbiota α- and β-diversity existed between the 2′-FL and control cohorts during the pregnancies. However, they added that these distinctions leveled off during lactation when supplementation had concluded.

In the mice offspring, varied β-diversity by group was identified at 3 weeks of age, though by the 6-week mark, both α- and β-diversity showed differences based on the mothers’ diets and allergy statuses. The findings consequently showed that maternal 2′-FL supplementation during pregnancy results in distinct microbial imprints in their offspring connected to allergy protection.

The team concluded that maternal nutrition directly impacts HMO profiles in breast milk, with HMO levels in breast milk and amniotic fluid being potentially boosted through dietary decisions.

“Taken together, we show, for the first time, that the gestational supplementation with 2′-FL leads to a full protection against FA in the offspring, which is associated with a microbial imprint and a reinforcement of the gut barrier in the pups,” Rousseaux and colleagues wrote. “These results are in line with a previous report showing a correlation between the presence of 2′-FL in breastmilk and a lower risk of allergy in infants.”¹

References

1. ^{Rousseaux, A., Misme-Aucouturier, B., Le Romancer, M., Villette, R., Larsen, M., De Carvalho, M., Bouchaud, G., Perrin, E., Barbarot, S., Brosseau, C. and Bodinier, M. (2024), A Gestational Supplementation With 2′-Fucosyllactose Is an Effective Strategy to Prevent Food Allergy. Allergy. https://doi.org/10.1111/all.16396.}
2. ^{S. Halken, A. Muraro, D. de Silva, et al., “EAACI Guideline: Preventing the Development of Food Allergy in Infants and Young Children (2020 Update),” Pediatric Allergy and Immunology 32 (2021): 843–858, https://doi.org/10.1111/pai.13496.}