Until now, bottle feeding has been the main option for mothers with breastfeeding difficulties. Now two American women, a cell biologist and a nutritional scientist, are developing their first laboratory breastmilk.
It may not seem like an innovative ad that two women are going to produce breast milk, but the news becomes very striking when these women – a cell biologist and a nutritional scientist – explain that this milk will be produced outside the female body, using laboratory culture techniques.
With this cultured breast milk, Leila Strickland, a physician in cell biology and expert in fundamental cellular processes, and Michelle Egger, a nutritional scientist who is an expert in dairy fermentation, formulation and processing, want to offer families a new nutritional opportunity. babies., as they indicate.
They explain that this product “will be nutritionally equivalent to the milk produced by a mother’s mammary glands and obtained under safe conditions through breakthrough biotechnology, the cultivation of breast cells.”
Researchers from the biotechnology company Biomilq (www.biomilq.com), co-founded by Strickland and Egger and based in Durham, North Carolina, USA, have already managed to produce the first laboratory samples with this biotechnology, which is still under development . predominant protein and sugar components of breast milk.
They emphasize that the production of the vital components of milk ‘together and within the same biotechnology system using a sterile end-to-end process and free from contamination is a key innovation’ because it will enable them, as they indicate. ‘ the complete constellation of complex components of breast milk in a perfect proportion ”.
Having reached this important first step, Biomilq is partnering with families, pediatricians, the lactation community and other sectors of society to develop the best possible product for babies and their parents, optimizing the manufacturing process to bring to market. .
“We are evaluating the various options for bringing this product to the market (in powder, liquid or otherwise) while examining the needs and priorities of future consumers through interviews with parents and medical professionals,” Charlotte tells Efe. Fron, responsible for communication and participation in Biomilq.
GREAT FOOD SUPPLEMENT.
“The milk that is grown and produced outside the body will be 100% breast milk and the goal is to provide babies with a nutritional supplement that will be best after breastfeeding by their mothers,” they emphasize.
“Human milk is widely recognized as the ideal source of infant nutrition and has been associated with numerous benefits for both mother and baby,” they emphasize.
They point out that this fluid “contains thousands of unique molecules mixed in perfect proportions to nourish a growing human and ensure the healthy development of children.”
Strickland and Egger believe that human breast cells are “ best equipped to bring about this ideal combination of nutritional molecules, as they have been producing milk since the dawn of mankind, and so we want to take advantage of this powerful natural ability to produce cultured breast milk “.
Because of its many benefits, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the World Health Organization (WHO) and other agencies recommend exclusive breastfeeding for at least the first six months of a baby’s life, and WHO and UNICEF are promoting an initiative to promote breastfeeding in hospital maternity wards, as indicated.
“But exclusive breastfeeding is not a realistic option for many mothers and impossible for some. In fact, 84% of mothers start feeding their babies with infant formula (artificial formula based on dairy products) before the recommended six-month period of exclusive breastfeeding is completed, ”said these experts.
BIOTECHNOLOGY CONNECTED TO CHILD DEVELOPMENT.
“Whether it is because the woman has low milk production, because her workplace is incompatible with the ability to breastfeed her child or because of the stigma surrounding breastfeeding in public, families feed the milk with infant formula. Out of necessity and not because they prefer it, ”they emphasize.
“Our current culture process (preliminary and patent pending) uses the unique biological properties of milk-producing breast epithelial cells, combined with a bioreactor technology, that is, containers that maintain a biologically active environment for post-harvesting. products, ”they explain.
During pregnancy, milk-producing cells (called breast epithelial cells) multiply dramatically in preparation for breastfeeding. When the baby is born, changes in the mother’s blood chemistry trigger the start of milk production.
They note that the culture of breast cells outside the body “will begin with a prenatal visit, during which breast epithelial cells will be collected from an expectant mother.”
“The cells collected will be sent to the Biomilq facilities, where they will be grown in a nutrient solution that will provide the energy and compounds, the so-called ‘precursors’, necessary for the synthesis of milk,” they say.
To add to this that when there are enough cells, they are stimulated to produce milk “using the same molecular signals that are present in the mother body during lactation.”
“Then the natural product secreted by the cells is collected and packaged to send to families around the world,” they assure.
This process allows the production of real milk that requires no separation, concentration or intensive thermal processing, maintaining the constellation of more than 2500 molecules of breast milk and ensuring that the product can be perfectly digested by the baby and that their body benefits from it. of them, they claim from Biomilq.
With this procedure, they have recently produced human casein and lactose and claim to be able to fully replicate the nutritional profile of breast milk.
They point out that while breastmilk cannot be substituted, “ they are willing to use the full potential of science, technology and nature to give parents (adoptive and biological) the opportunity to feed their babies comprehensive and sustainable nutrition in the early stages. to give. of its development ”.
One of the inspirations for this project was the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Child Nutrition Solutions, and in fact, this billionaire’s investment organization focused on sustainable innovations for the environment has invested $ 3.5 million in the Biomilq company, according to it. CNBC corporate portal.