Growth, development and differentiation: a functional food science approach.
Koletzko B, Aggett PJ, Bindels JG, Bung P, Ferre P, Gil A, Lentze MJ, Roberfroid M, Strobel S
Kinderpoliklinik, Klinikum Innenstadt der Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitat, Munchen, Germany. berthold.koletzko@kk-i.med.uni-muenchen.de
Few other aspects of food supply and metabolism are of greater biological
importance than the feeding of mothers during pregnancy and lactation,
and of their infants and young children. Nutritional factors during early
development not only have short-term effects on growth, body composition
and body functions but also exert long-term effects on health, disease
and mortality risks in adulthood, as well as development of neural functions
and behaviour, a phenomenon called 'metabolic programming'. The interaction
of nutrients and gene expression may form the basis of many of these programming
effects and needs to be investigated in more detail. The relation between
availability of food ingredients and cell and tissue differentiation and
its possible uses for promoting health and development requires further
exploration. The course of pregnancy, childbirth and lactation as well
as human milk composition and the short- and long-term outcome of the child
are influenced by the intake of foods and particularly micronutrients,
e.g. polyunsaturated fatty acids, Fe, Zn and I. Folic acid supplementation
from before conception through the first weeks of pregnancy can markedly
reduce the occurrence of severe embryonic malformations; other potential
benefits of modulating nutrient supply on maternal and child health should
be further evaluated. The evaluation of dietary effects on child growth
requires epidemiological and field studies as well as evaluation of specific
cell and tissue growth. Novel substrates, growth factors and conditionally
essential nutrients (e.g. growth factors, amino acids, polyunsaturated
fatty acids) may be potentially useful as ingredients in functional foods
and need to be assessed carefully. Intestinal growth, maturation, and adaptation
as well as long-term function may be influenced by food ingredients such
as oligosaccharides, gangliosides, high-molecular-mass glycoproteins, bile
salt-activated lipase, pre- and probiotics. There are indications for some
beneficial effects of functional foods on the developing immune response,
for example induced by antioxidant vitamins, trace elements, fatty acids,
arginine, nucleotides, and altered antigen contents in infant foods. Peak
bone mass at the end of adolescence can be increased by dietary means,
which is expected to be of long-term importance for the prevention of osteoporosis
at older ages. Future studies should be directed to the combined effects
of Ca and other constituents of growing bone, such as P, Mg and Zn, as
well as vitamins D and K, and the trace elements F and B. Pregnancy and
the first postnatal months are critical time periods for the growth and
development of the human nervous system, processes for which adequate substrate
supplies are essential. Early diet seems to have long-term effects on sensory
and cognitive abilities as well as behaviour. The potential beneficial
effects of a balanced supply of nutrients such as I, Fe, Zn and polyunsaturated
fatty acids should be further evaluated. Possible long-term effects of
early exposure to tastes and flavours on later food choice preferences
may have a major impact on public health and need to be further elucidated.
The use of biotechnology and recombinant techniques may offer the opportunity
to include various bioactive substances in special dietary products, such
as human milk proteins, peptides, growth factors, which may have beneficial
physiological effects, particularly in infancy and early childhood.
Publication Types:
Review
Review, academic
PMID: 9849353, UI: 99066215