Human milk oligosaccharides (HMO) are complex sugars which are found in breast milk at significant concentrations and with unique structural diversity. These sugars are the fourth most abundant component of human milk after water, lipids, and lactose and yet provide no direct nutritional value to the infant. Recent research has highlighted that HMOs have various functional roles to play in infant development. These sugars act as prebiotics by promoting growth of beneficial intestinal bacteria thereby generating short-chain fatty acids which are critical for gut health. HMOs also directly modulate host-epithelial immune responses and can selectively reduce binding of pathogenic bacteria and viruses to the gut epithelium preventing the emergence of a disease. This review covers current knowledge related to the functional biology of HMOs and their associated impact on infant gut health.

母乳低聚糖 (HMO) 是一种复合糖，在母乳中含量很高，并且具有独特的结构多样性。这些糖是母乳中第四丰富的成分，仅次于水、脂质和乳糖，但对婴儿没有直接的营养价值。最近的研究强调，HMO 在婴儿发育中发挥着多种功能作用。这些糖作为益生元，促进有益肠道细菌的生长，从而产生对肠道健康至关重要的短链脂肪酸。HMO 还直接调节宿主上皮免疫反应，并可以选择性地减少病原细菌和病毒与肠道上皮的结合，从而防止疾病的出现。本综述涵盖了与 HMO 功能生物学相关的最新知识及其对婴儿肠道健康的相关影响。