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Children’s Nutrition Research Center Baylor College of Medicine 1100 Bates Street Houston, TX 77030 E-mail: wheird{at}bcm.tmc.edu
This volume of Advances in Nutritional Research focuses on the immunologic properties of milk. The volume includes 19 chapters divided into 5 parts. Part I, titled "Introduction," begins with a chapter summarizing the major aspects of the mammalian immune system. Next is a chapter describing the immunologic system in human milk. The final chapter of this part concerns the immunologic activities associated with milk.
Part II includes 5 chapters that focus on milk and the risk of infection during the suckling period. The first of these (Chapter 4) reviews the large number of studies concerning breast milk and the risk of opportunistic infection in infants in both industrialized and nonindustrialized settings. Chapter 5 concerns breast-milk transmission of viral disease. Chapter 6 reviews the evidence that breast milk decreases the risk of neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis. This is followed by a chapter focusing on the protective properties of milk in nonhuman species. The final chapter of Part II (Chapter 8) concerns the role of colostrum, milk, and involution secretion on defense of the mammary gland.
Part III includes 6 chapters, each focusing on a single, passively transferred antiinfectious agent in milk. The first of these (Chapter 9) is an overview of the use of colostrum and milk in treatment of disease. The next chapter concerns the role of secretory immunoglobulin A in protection from bacterial enteritis. Chapter 11 concerns the chemistry of milk mucins, their antimicrobial action, and their potential role as pre- and probiotics. Chapter 12 focuses on the antimicrobial actions of lactoferrin, and Chapter 13 focuses on the antimicrobial function of milk lipids. The final chapter of Part III (Chapter 14) reviews the antimicrobial and immunomodulating actions of milk leukocytes.
Part IV includes only 3 chapters—all concerning the activity of milk in promoting development of immunocompetence in the suckling period. The first of these (Chapter 15) reviews the maturation of immunocompetence in breast-fed compared with formula-fed infants. Chapter 16 concerns milk components with immunomodulatory potential, and the final chapter of this part focuses on dietary whey proteins and immunocompetence during the postweaning stages of life.
The final 2 chapters, both of which focus on effects of external influences on defense components of milk, make up Part V. Chapter 18 concerns maternal modulation of specific and nonspecific immune components of colostrum and mature milk, and Chapter 19 concerns the influence of storage procedures and subsequent processing on the immunologic components of milk.
This is a beautifully organized volume with chapters on virtually every aspect of milk immunology. Each chapter is well written and, therefore, easy to read. Each was written by a recognized authority in the aspect of milk immunology addressed. Most of the authors are actively involved in research related to their topics at academic institutions in several European countries, the United States, and Australia. Surprisingly for a multiauthored volume, there is little overlap among the chapters.
Experts in any of the single topics included in this volume may not find the chapters dealing with their area useful but, nonetheless, may find the other chapters quite helpful. As one with little more than general knowledge in any of the areas covered, I found the volume very enlightening. It contains a vast amount of information that, although available elsewhere, would be difficult to compile. Furthermore, all of the chapters are extremely well referenced. Thus, a reader who desires more information about a specific topic can easily find it.
I highly recommend this text to anyone with an interest in the immunology of milk. Pediatricians, obstetricians, nutritionists, and nurses are likely to find the volume quite useful. In my opinion, it would be a worthwhile addition to the shelves of all medical libraries as well as many departmental libraries.