ArticlePloS one2014
Direct evidence for the presence of human milk oligosaccharides in the circulation of breastfed infants.
Article in PloS one, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 111 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
111 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 223 citations in OpenAlex.
- Clinical Studies on the Supplementation of Manufactured Human Milk Oligosaccharides: A Systematic Review.Nutrients · 2023Pooled it
- Dynamic Changes in Human Milk Oligosaccharides in Chinese Population: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Nutrients · 2021Pooled it
- Systematic review of the concentrations of oligosaccharides in human milk.Nutrition reviews · 2017Pooled it
- A human milk oligosaccharide alters the microbiome, circulating hormones, and metabolites in a randomized controlled trial of older adults.Cell reports. Medicine · 2025Trial
- Infants Fed Breastmilk or 2'-FL Supplemented Formula Have Similar Systemic Levels of Microbiota-Derived Secondary Bile Acids.Nutrients · 2023Trial
- Trial
- Fructo-Oligosaccharides Modify Human DC Maturation and Peanut-Induced Autologous T-Cell Response of Allergic PatientsFrontiers in immunology · 2020Trial
- Effects of Infant Formula With Human Milk Oligosaccharides on Growth and Morbidity: A Randomized Multicenter Trial.Journal of pediatric gastroenterology and nutrition · 2017Trial
- Infants Fed a Lower Calorie Formula With 2'FL Show Growth and 2'FL Uptake Like Breast-Fed Infants.Journal of pediatric gastroenterology and nutrition · 2015Trial
- Human milk oligosaccharides in premature infants: absorption, excretion, and influence on the intestinal microbiota.Pediatric research · 2015Trial
- Longitudinal analysis of human milk oligosaccharides and mucin-2-glycans in infants reveals enrichment of sulfated and glucuronic acid-bearing HMOs.The Journal of biological chemistry · 2026Article
- Safety of 3'-sialyllactose (3'-SL) sodium salt produced with a derivative strain (EFSA journal. European Food Safety Authority · 2026Article
- Human milk oligosaccharides promote synaptogenesis and neurite outgrowth in human cortical organoids.Biochemistry and biophysics reports · 2026Article
- Article
- Safety of 6'-sialyllactose (6'-SL) sodium salt produced with a derivative strain (EFSA journal. European Food Safety Authority · 2026Article
- Integrating High-Resolution Cyclic Ion Mobility Separations with Tandem Mass Spectrometry and Collision Cross Section Measurements for Human Milk Oligosaccharide Sequencing.ACS measurement science au · 2025Article
- Systemic Availability of Human Milk Oligosaccharides in Infants and Adults: A Narrative Review.Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.) · 2025Review
- The potential immunomodulatory role of human milk oligosaccharides in prevention of viral infections and development of asthma in early life.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Review
- HMOS 2'FL and 3FL prevent house dust mite induced proinflammatory cytokine releaseFrontiers in nutrition · 2025Article
- Secretor and non-secretor human milk oligosaccharides differentially modulate immune response in the presence of cow's milk allergen β-lactoglobulin in anFrontiers in immunology · 2025Article
51 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundIt has been hypothesized that human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) confer systemic health benefits to breastfed infants; however, plausible mechanisms for some effects, such as systemic immunomodulation, require HMOs to access the bloodstream of the developing infant. While small concentrations of HMOs have been detected in the urine of breastfed infants there are no published studies of these oligosaccharides accessing the plasma compartment of breastfed infants. Here we determined the relative fractions of several ingested HMOs in infant urine and plasma. Plasma from formula-fed infants was used as a control.
methodsUsing gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS), liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS), and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), we analyzed the urine and plasma from 17 healthy formula-fed infants and 16 healthy breast-fed infants (and the milk from their mothers).
resultsMultiple HMOs were detected in the urine and plasma of breastfed infants, but not in formula-fed infants. Levels of 2'-fucosyllactose (2'FL), 3FL and lacto-N-neotetraose (LNnT) in both plasma (r = 0.98, p<0.001; r = 0.75, p = 0.002; r = 0.71, p = 0.004) and urine (r = 0.81, p<0.001; r = 0.56, p = 0.026; NS) correlated significantly with concentrations in the corresponding breast milk. The relative fractions of HMOs were low, 0.1% of milk levels for plasma and 4% of milk levels for urine. Within the breastfed cohort, there were significant differences between secretor and nonsecretor groups in levels of several fucosylated HMOs.
conclusionAt least some ingested HMOs are absorbed intact into the circulation and excreted in the urine and their concentrations in these fluids correlate with levels of the corresponding mother's milk. While relative fractions of absorbed HMOs were low, these levels have been shown to have biological effects in vitro, and could explain some of the postulated benefits of human milk.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.