Miloš Jeseňák, Zuzana Havlíčeková, Zuzana Rennerová, Renáta Szépeová, Peter Bánovčin
Human milk presents an optimal nutrition for a child during the first months of life. Besides its well-known nutritional functions, its immunoactive substances significantly influence the maturation of the immune system of child. Human milk possesses direct and indirect anti-infective properties, supports the physiological maturation of child immune system, modulates the development of intestinal microflora, regulates the inflammatory response and the processes of oral tolerance establishment and prevents the development of several immunopathological diseases. Recognition of the immunoactive substances of human milk has led to the improvement of the composition of artificial milk formulas with the similar immunomodulatory effect as natural human milk.