Probiotic yogurt administration to mothers during late pregnancy has an imminent effect on intestinal microbiota and the incidence rate of atopic eczema in infants at one year of age. The effect of probiotics in preventing the development of allergies has been reported since 2001. The World Allergy Organization-McMaster University Guidelines for Allergic Disease Prevention (GLAD-P) determined that there is likely a net benefit of using probiotics for the prevention of eczema in infants, when the probiotics are used.
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Providing LGG yogurt to pregnant women during the last month of pregnancy enhances the growth of Lactobacillus GG bacteria in the intestinal tract of their newborns before weaning, with an increase in intestinal LGG bacteria being associated with a lower risk of eczema at 1 year of age.
The intra-uterine environment influences allergy development in infants. The lactation period has been reported to be a critical period for allergy development. Recent studies have detected bacterial DNA in the placenta, umbilical cord blood and amniotic fluid. Therefore, although the mechanism is still unknown, there is a possibility of a transfer of the intestinal bacteria from the mother to the fetus, via hematogenous and lymphogenous routes, and that such transfer might influence the immune response of the fetus in utero. This fetal immune response could further be enhanced by the prenatal administration of LGG.
Researchers therefore propose that maternal LGG administration might influence the microbiota transfer to the infant through the placenta and breast milk. There are plan to further investigate the mechanisms of action of LGG administration on the risk for allergy development and eczema more specifically.
Reference: J Allergy Ther 2018, Vol 9(2): 277 DOI: 10.4172/2155-6121.1000277