The Anti-Infective Activity of Human Milk is Potentially Greater than the Sum of its Microbicidal Components

The immune system present in human milk must inactivate a wide spectrum of microorganisms. In order to accomplish this function milk contains multiple protective factors, many of which interact in an additive or synergistic manner. Antimicrobial factors in human milk provide layers of protection using multiple, often redundant, mechanisms that attack pathogens by various mechanisms. As a result of milk containing combinations of protective factors with complementary properties, the total antimicrobial activity provided to the infant’s gastrointestinal tract is likely to be significantly greater than is suggested by measuring microbicidal components individually. The present study was undertaken to determine the effect of using antiviral lipids and peptides alone and in combination on the minimum concentrations of each factor required to inactivate herpes simplex virus (HSV).