New Clues to Reducing Food Allergy Risk: Polyamines in Breast Milk

Snow Brand Bean Stalk Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President: Masaya Matsunaga) has been investigating the impact of maternal lifestyle and breast milk composition on infants through the 3rd National Breast Milk Survey, conducted jointly with Megmilk Snow Brand Co., Ltd. since 2015. Allergic diseases, such as food allergies, are common in infancy and represent a significant health issue affecting both the child and the family's daily life. Breast milk contains various components related to immune function and digestive tract development, and research into their relationship with allergy onset is ongoing. We aim to uncover the unknown powers of breast milk through our research. Polyamines are essential components for biological reactions such as cell proliferation and immune regulation, present in all living organisms. They are also found in breast milk and are believed to play a crucial role in the development of an infant's digestive tract and immune system. Recent research has also explored their impact on aging control. Putrescine, spermidine, and spermine are known as representative polyamines. We focused on polyamines and verified the relationship between breast milk polyamine concentration and the onset of food allergies in infants, presenting our findings at the 80th Annual Meeting of the Japan Society of Nutrition and Food Science held on May 15, 2026. While we reported last year that higher total polyamine concentrations were linked to lower allergy risk, this year we analyzed specific polyamines: putrescine, spermidine, and spermine. Using samples from over 1,200 mothers, we found that higher concentrations of spermidine and spermine were significantly associated with a lower risk of food allergies by age three. In the group that did not develop food allergies, median concentrations of spermidine and spermine were 23% and 22% higher, respectively, compared to the group that did. We will continue to analyze the data from the 3rd National Breast Milk Survey to contribute to the healthy development of infants and support families through the development of infant formula.