GROWTH, DEVELOPMENT AND DIFFERENTIATION - A FUNCTIONAL FOOD-SCIENCE APPROACH

Few other aspects of food supply and metabolism are of greater biologi cal importance than the feeding of mothers during pregnancy and lactat ion; and of their infants and young children. Nutritional factors duri ng early development not only have short-term effects on growth, body, composition and body functions but also exert long-term effects on he alth, disease and mortality risks in adulthood, as well as development of neural functions and behaviour, a phenomenon called 'metabolic pro gramming'. The interaction of nutrients and gene expression may form t he basis of many of these programming effects and needs to be investig ated in more detail. The relation between availability of food ingredi ents and cell and tissue differentiation and its possible uses for pro moting health and development requires further exploration. The course of pregnancy, childbirth and lactation as well as human milk composit ion and the short- and long-term outcome of the child are influenced b y the intake of foods and particularly micronutrients, e.g. polyunsatu rated fatty acids, Fe, Zn and I. Folic acid supplementation from befor e conception through the first weeks of pregnancy can markedly reduce the occurrence of severe embryonic malformations; other potential bene fits of modulating nutrient supply on maternal and child health should be further evaluated. The evaluation of dietary effects;on child grow th requires epidemiological and held studies as well as evaluation of specific cell and tissue growth. Novel substrates, growth factors and conditionally essential nutrients (e.g. growth factors, amino acids, p olyunsaturated fatty acids)may be potentially useful as ingredients in functional foods and need to be assessed carefully. Intestinal growth , maturation, and adaptation as well as long-term function may be infl uenced by food ingredients such as oligosaccharides, gangliosides, hig h-molecular-mass glycoproteins, bile salt-activated lipase, pre- and p robiotics. There are indications for some beneficial effects of functi onal-foods on the developing-immune response, for example induced by a ntioxidant vitamins, trace elements; fatty acids, arginine, nucleotide s, and altered antigen contents in infant foods. Peak bone mass at the end of adolescence can be increased by dietary means, which is expect ed to be of long term importance for the prevention of osteoporosis at older ages. Future studies should be directed to the combined effects of Ca and other constituents of growing bone, such as P, Mg and Zn,as well as vitamins D and K, and the trace elements F and B. Pregnancy a nd the first postnatal months are critical time periods for the growth and development of the human nervous system, processes for which adeq uate substrate supplies are essential. Early diet seems to have long-t erra:effects on sensory and-cognitive; abilities as well:as behaviour. The potential beneficial effects of a balanced supply of nutrients su ch as I, Fe, Zn and polyunsaturated fatty acids should be further eval uated. Possible long-term effects of early exposure to tastes and flav ours on later food choice preferences may have a major impact on publi c health and:need to be further elucidated. The use of biotechnology a nd recombinant techniques may offer the opportunity to include various bioactive substances in special dietary products, such as human milk proteins,:peptides, growth factors; which may have beneficial physiolo gical effects, particularly in infancy and early childhood.