EFFECT OF HUMAN-MILK AND INFANT MILK FORMULAS ON ADHERENCE OF GIARDIA-INTESTINALIS

Abstract

Human milk was shown to inhibit adherence of Giardia at concentrations as low as 0.5%. Unsaturated fatty acids were also found to cause significant inhibitory effects on adherence, with ED50 values less than 1 microM for arachidonic, linoleic and palmitic acids. A variety of infant feeding formulae derived from cow's milk and soy bean had suppressive effects on adherence. These observations may explain in part the low prevalence of giardiasis in young infants.