Chemical characterisation of saccharides in the milk of a reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus)

Creation of a milk oligosaccharide database, MilkOligoDB, reveals common structural motifs and extensive diversity across mammals

The carbohydrate fraction of most mammalian milks contains a variety of oligosaccharides that encompass a range of structures and monosaccharide compositions. Human milk oligosaccharides have received considerable attention due to their biological roles in neonatal gut microbiota, immunomodulation, and brain development. However, a major challenge in understanding the biology of milk oligosaccharides across other mammals is that reports span more than 5 decades of publications with varying data reporting methods. In the present study, publications on milk oligosaccharide profiles were identified and harmonized into a standardized format to create a comprehensive, machine-readable database of milk oligosaccharides across mammalian species. The resulting database, MilkOligoDB, includes 3193 entries for 783 unique oligosaccharide structures from the milk of 77 different species harvested from 113 publications. Cross-species and cross-publication comparisons of milk oligosaccharide profiles reveal common structural motifs within mammalian orders. Of the species studied, only chimpanzees, bonobos, and Asian elephants share the specific combination of fucosylation, sialylation, and core structures that are characteristic of human milk oligosaccharides. However, agriculturally important species do produce diverse oligosaccharides that may be valuable for human supplementation. Overall, MilkOligoDB facilitates cross-species and cross-publication comparisons of milk oligosaccharide profiles and the generation of new data-driven hypotheses for future research.

Characterization of Bioactive Sialyl Oligosaccharides Separated from Colostrum of Indonesia Dairy Goat

The bioactive functions of oligosaccharides from human milk have been reported by many studies. Many of oligosaccharides isolated from colostrum and/or milk of dairy animals have been reported to have similar chemical structures with those in human colostrum and/or milk. It has been proved by several studies that the oligosaccharides with similar chemical structure shared common bioactivities. Among domesticated dairy animals, bovine/cattle, caprine/goat, and ovine/sheep are the most commonly used species to isolate oligosaccharides from their colostrum and/or milk. Several studies on the oligosaccharides from goat colostrum and milk have revealed similar properties to that of human milk and possess the highest content of sialyl oligosaccharides (SOS) as compared to other ruminants. Indonesia ranks first in Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for goat milk production. Therefore, goat milk is the second most consumed milk in the country. The most reared dairy goat breed in Indonesia is Etawah Grade. However, oligosaccharides from Indonesia dairy animals including goat, have not been characterized. This is the first study to characterize oligosaccharides from Indonesia dairy animals. The present study was aimed to isolate and characterize oligosaccharides, specifically SOS from the colostrum of Etawah Grade goats by using proton/1H-nuclear magnetic resonance. The SOS successfully characterized in this study were: Neu5Ac(α2-3)Gal(β1-4)Glc (3'-N-acetylneuraminyllactose), Neu5Ac(α2-6)Gal(β1-4)Glc (6'-N-acetylneuraminyllactose), Neu5Gc(α2-3)Gal(β1-4)Glc (3'-N-glycolylneuraminyllactose), Neu5Gc(α2-6)Gal(β1-4)Glc (6'-N-glycolylneuraminyllactose), Neu5Ac(α2-6)Gal(β1-4) GlcNAc (6'-N-acetylneuraminyllactosamine) and Neu5Gc(α2-6)Gal(β1-4)GlcNAc (6'-N-glycolylneuraminyllactosamine). This finding shows that Etawah Grade, as a local dairy goat breed in Indonesia, is having significant potential to be natural source of oligosaccharides that can be utilized in the future food and pharmaceutical industries.

Identification of sialyl oligosaccharides including an oligosaccharide nucleotide in colostrum of an addax (Addax nasomaculatus) (Subfamily Antelopinae)

Mammalian milk/colostrum usually contains milk oligosaccharides along with the predominant lactose. Although milk oligosaccharides of a variety of Bovidae species including cow, sheep and goat have been characterized, those of the addax, an Antelopinae species of the Bovidae, have not as yet been clarified. In this study, several sialyl oligosaccharides were purified from a sample of addax colostrum and characterized as follows: Neu5Ac(α2-8)Neu5Ac(α2-3)Gal(β1-4)Glc, Neu5Gc(α2-8)Neu5Gc(α2-3)Gal(β1-4)Glc, Neu5Ac(α2-3)Gal(β1-4)Glc, Neu5Ac(α2-6)Gal(β1-4)GlcNAc, Neu5Gc(α2-3)Gal(β1-4)Glc, Neu5Gc(α2-6)Gal(β1-4)Glc, Neu5Gc(α2-6)Gal(β1-4)GlcNAc. In addition, an oligosaccharide nucleotide Neu5Gc(α2-6)Gal(β1-4)GlcNAcα1-UDP was characterized. Molecular species of a variety of sialyl oligosaccharides found in milk and colostrum of these Bovidae were compared.

Characterization of two novel sialyl N-acetyllactosaminyl nucleotides separated from ovine colostrum

The milk/colostrum of some mammalian species is known to contain sugar nucleotides including uridine diphosphate (UDP) oligosaccharides in addition to lactose and milk oligosaccharides, but the detailed structures of these UDP oligosaccharides have not so far been clarified. In this study we isolated two UDP-sialyl N-acetyllactosamines from ovine colostrum and characterized them using (1)H-NMR and MALDI-TOFMS spectroscopies. Their structures were found to be Neu5Gc(α2-3)Gal(β1-4)GlcNAcα1-UDP and Neu5Gc(α2-6)Gal(β1-4)GlcNAcα1-UDP.