(PTFS11-03-25) Effect of Maternal Moringa oleifera Leaf Supplementation on Human Milk and Infant Fecal Microbiomes

Objectives: Moringa oleifera leaves (moringa) can be harvested and dried to provide a nutrient-rich dietary supplement and may also increase milk production when consumed during breastfeeding. However, whether maternal moringa consumption impacts human milk and the recipient infant’s gastrointestinal microbiomes is not known. This study aimed to investigate whether maternal moringa consumption alters the milk and infant fecal microbiomes of exclusively breastfeeding mother-infant pairs.

Methods: This was a cluster-randomized intervention trial involving 50 mother-infant pairs in Kisumu, Kenya designed primarily to investigate the impact of maternal moringa consumption on milk production. Women received corn porridge with or without moringa (20 g/d) for 3 mo. Milk (complete breast expression) and infant feces were collected at baseline and after 3 mo of intervention. DNA was extracted from samples and the V1-V3 regions of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene amplified and sequenced. Only data from exclusively breastfeeding mother-infant pairs were included in the milk (n = 40) and infant fecal microbiome samples (n = 42) analyses. Permutational t-tests were conducted to determine if changes in relative abundances of bacterial genera were different between treatment and control groups. Values are reported as means ± standard deviations. P < 0.05 was considered significant after adjusting for multiple comparisons.

Results: Staphylococcus (36.4 ± 32.9%) and Streptococcus (17.7 ± 23.6%) were the two most abundant genera in milk. Pseudomonas was the only genus for which the mean change in abundance between baseline and 3 mo was different between groups: -8.7 ± 24.5% vs.17.3 ± 29.4% (P = 0.036) in treatment and control groups, respectively. The overall most abundant bacterial genera in infant feces were Bifidobacterium (42.1 ± 24.9%), Streptococcus (12.5 ± 12.6%), and Escherichia-Shigella (10.0 ± 16.5%). There were no differences between treatment and control groups in mean changes of bacterial taxa in infant feces during the study.

Conclusions: Maternal moringa consumption during breastfeeding has little to no effect on milk and infant fecal microbiomes.

Funding Sources: NIH BIRCWH K12DA035150, NIH CTSA UL1TR001998, NIGMS P20GM152304, Idaho Agricultural Research Station