The milk oligosaccharides of domestic farm animals

Abstract

Milk is the only food for the newborn young, and it contains many nutritious as well as biofunctional components which are available for the homeostasis and health of the immature newborn infants. People have been collecting the milk from several domestic animals such as cows, sheep, goats and horses in order to utilize them as raw foods or dairy products. Milk oligosaccharides, which are one of milk's components, have recently been recognized as significant anti-infectional compounds against pathogenic viruses and bacteria as well as being an energy source for the newborn young. They may also be materials which are required for the postnatal biosynthesis of glycoconjugates, particularly of the nervous system. It is concluded that the domestic animals' milk or colostrum are available to separate several biofunctional materials. Milk/colostrum of domestic animals, especially colostrum, contains large amounts of sialyl oligosaccharides as well as many kinds of neutral oligosaccharides. The colostrum should therefore be suitable as raw material for the large-scale preparation of milk oligosaccharides. Improved separation techniques will stimulate their utilisation in the pharmacological and food industries. Many types of oligosaccharides will also be used within an oligosaccharide library to help in determining the epitopes of several types of lectins or antibodies and clarifying the features of glycosyltransferases and glycosidases.