Science 365, eaau4732 (2019)

Science 365, eaau4735 (2019)

A diet that aids the natural progression of microbiome maturation can combat malnutrition in children.

Childhood malnutrition results in impaired growth and immune and cognitive development, among other pathologies. It is known that children with acute malnutrition have underdeveloped (immature) gut microbiomes, and current dietary interventions for malnutrition have no impact on this.

Using computational tools, researchers defined healthy microbiome development and its degree of impairment in Bangladeshi children with moderate and severe acute malnutrition. Then, using animal models, they identified an affordable, culturally appropriate food formulation containing nutrients that increase numbers of under-represented growth-promoting microbiome constituents.

Treating malnourished children with this food repaired their microbiomes and increased levels of molecular indicators of growth toward a healthy state.