Bioactive components in the marsupial pouch and milk

Authors

Manujaya W. Jayamanna Mohottige, Edith Cowan UniversityFollow
Chloe E. Gardner
Mitchell G. Nye-Wood, Edith Cowan UniversityFollow
Katherine A. Farquharson
Angéla Juhász, Edith Cowan UniversityFollow
Katherine Belov
Carolyn J. Hogg
Emma Peel
Michelle L. Colgrave, Edith Cowan UniversityFollow

Author Identifier

Manujaya W. Jayamanna Mohottige: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-8818-4054

Mitchell G. Nye-Wood: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9560-9916

Angéla Juhász: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4317-2027

Michelle L. Colgrave: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4317-2027

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Title

Nutrition Research Reviews

PubMed ID

39551618

Publisher

Cambridge University Press

School

School of Science

RAS ID

77108

Funders

Australian Research Council

Grant Number

ARC Number : CE200100012

Comments

Mohottige, M. W. J., Gardner, C. E., Nye-Wood, M. G., Farquharson, K. A., Juhász, A., Belov, K., ... & Colgrave, M. L. Bioactive components in the marsupial pouch and milk. Nutrition Research Reviews. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954422424000313

Abstract

Marsupials give birth to immunologically naïve young after a relatively short gestation period compared to eutherians. Consequently, the joey significantly relies on maternal protection, which is the focus of the present review. The milk and the pouch environment are essential contributors to maternal protection for the healthy development of joeys. In this review, we discuss bioactive components found in the marsupial pouch and milk that form cornerstones of maternal protection. These bioactive components include immune cells, immunoglobulins, the s100 family of calcium-binding proteins, lysozymes, whey proteins, antimicrobial peptides and other immune proteins. Furthermore, we investigated the possibility of the presence of plurifunctional components in milk and pouches that are potentially bioactive. These compounds include caseins, vitamins and minerals, oligosaccharides, lipids, and microRNAs. Where applicable, this review addresses variability in bioactive components during different phases of lactation, designed to fulfil the immunological needs of the growing pouch young. Yet there are numerous additional research opportunities to pursue, including uncovering novel bioactive components, investigating their mode of action, dynamics, stability, and ability to penetrate the gut epithelium ensuring systemic actions.

DOI

10.1017/S0954422424000313

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.