Milk oligosaccharides

Abstract

Mammalian milk contains up to 10% carbohydrate, of which the disaccharide, lactose (Gal(β1-4)Glc), is usually a prominent component. Milk and colostrum also contain lesser amounts of other saccharides, referred to as milk oligosaccharides, nearly all of which have a lactose unit at their reducing end to which GlcNAc, Gal, Fuc and/or Neu5Ac or Neu5Gc residues can be attached (Jenness et al., 1964; Newburg and Neubauer, 1995; Boehm and Stahl, 2003; Urashima et al., 2001; Messer and Urashima, 2002). Pronounced heterogeneity as well as homology of milk oligosaccharide structures among different mammalian species has been documented (Urashima et al., 2001; Messer and Urashima, 2002). © 2009 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.