Breastmilk not only provides nutrients to the infant, but is also a source of probiotics (milk microbiota) and prebiotics contributing to the establishment of the infant gut microbiota.

Intestinal microflora of breastfed infants is composed of skin and enteric bacteria, mainly Lactobacillus bifidus (or Bifidobacterium bifidum). These bacteria have the ability to acidify the gut and decrease the probability of infection by enteric pathogens, produce antimicrobial compounds, and could be involved in enhancing intestinal barrier protection. Breast milk is a source of bacterial communities transferred from the mother to the child and from the child to the mother during suckling (two-way path) these bacteria colonize the neonatal gut. Among these bacterial microbiota, Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria species are considered probiotics.

Human milk functions as a bioactive food consisting of all essential nutrients plus immune components, hormones, HMOs, and microbiota, which serve crucial roles in early life metabolic and immune system homeostasis and development.

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