Buccal administration of human colostrum: impact on the oral microbiota of premature infants

Objective:to determine whether the administration of mother’s colostrum into the buccal pouch in the first days of life alters the oral microbiota compared with control infants.study design:in this pilot study, 12 very low birth weight (vlbw) infants were randomly assigned to receive either colostrum from their mothers directly into the buccal pouch every 2 h for 46 h or standard care. we analyzed the oral microbiota at initiation and 48 and 96 h later using next-generation sequencing.result:the oral microbiota changed markedly over the 96 h period in all babies. patterns of colonization differed between groups with planococcaceae, the dominant family at 48 and 96 h in the colostrum group, and moraxellaceae and staphylococcaceae, the dominant families at 48 and 96 h, respectively, in the control group.conclusion:buccal administration of mother’s colostrum to vlbw infants influenced the colonization of the oral cavity with differences persisting 48 h after completion of the intervention.