Systematic Reviews
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2025. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Pediatr. Jun 9, 2025; 14(2): 104797
Published online Jun 9, 2025. doi: 10.5409/wjcp.v14.i2.104797
Human milk oligosaccharide secretion dynamics during breastfeeding and its antimicrobial role: A systematic review
Mohammed Al-Beltagi
Mohammed Al-Beltagi, Department of Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Tanta University, Tanta 31511, Alghrabia, Egypt
Mohammed Al-Beltagi, Department of Pediatric, University Medical Center, King Abdulla Medical City, Arabian Gulf University, Manama 26671, Bahrain
Author contributions: Al-Beltagi M is the sole author of this study; Al-Beltagi M conceptualized the research, conducted the systematic literature search, performed data extraction and analysis, and interpreted the findings; Al-Beltagi M also drafted the manuscript, addressed reviewer comments, and finalized the revisions; Al-Beltagi M approved the final version of the manuscript for submission.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The author declares no conflict of interest.
PRISMA 2009 Checklist statement: This systematic review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA 2009 guidelines. The study followed a structured approach, including a comprehensive literature search, predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria, systematic data extraction, and risk of bias assessment. A PRISMA flow diagram was used to illustrate the study selection process.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Mohammed Al-Beltagi, MD, PhD, Chief Physician, Professor, Department of Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Tanta University, 1 Hassan Radwan Street, Tanta 31511, Alghrabia, Egypt. mbelrem@hotmail.com
Received: January 2, 2025
Revised: February 19, 2025
Accepted: February 27, 2025
Published online: June 9, 2025
Processing time: 75 Days and 20.1 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: This systematic review highlights human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs)' dynamic secretion patterns and antimicrobial properties (HMOs), emphasizing their crucial role in infant health. HMOs protect against many pathogens by inhibiting adhesion, disrupting biofilms, and impairing bacterial enzymatic activity. Synthetic HMOs, including 2′-fucosyllactose and 3-fucosyllactose, replicate the structure and function of natural HMOs, offering scalable solutions for therapeutic applications. HMOs also synergize with antibiotics, enhancing their efficacy and addressing antimicrobial resistance. These findings underscore HMOs' potential to develop innovative maternal and neonatal care interventions, improving global health outcomes.