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22.09.2024

6-Sialyllactose | An anabolic sugar in milk

Milk contains a sugar - actually you should say: an oligosaccharide - that makes muscles stronger and bigger. Korean researchers established the anabolic qualities of 6-sialyllactose in an animal study. Their research may have been sponsored by a manufacturer of 6-sialyllactose, but it is nevertheless fascinating.

6-Sialyllactose
Human mother's milk contains sialyllactose molecules such as 6-sialyllactose and 3-sialyllactose. The milk you buy in the supermarket also contains these substances, but in smaller quantities.

You can see the chemical structure of 6-sialyllactose below.

The R&D departments of a number of Asian food companies have been studying these sugars for several years. In countries such as Japan and South Korea, functional foods and supplements are already on the market that contain human milk oligosaccharides - usually abbreviated to HOMs. These HOMs should strengthen the immune system by eliminating viruses or stimulating the growth of benign microorganisms in the intestine. There are also indications that some HOMs have an anti-anxiety effect.

In 2023, Dutch researchers published an animal study in which 6-sialyllactose [6'-SL] and 3-sialyllactose [3'-SL] increased the endurance of nematodes by activating signaling molecules such as AMPK and Nrf2. [Food Sci Nutr. 2023 Jul 18;11(10):6199-212.] 6-sialyllactose in particular had a performance-enhancing effect.

The sponsor of the Dutch research was the Japanese producer Kyowa Hakko Bio.

Safety
In 2023, the EFSA published a literature review that concluded that 6-sialyllactose was safe for human use. The authors of this review had functional foods and supplements in mind that would help adult users get approximately 600-900 milligrams daily. [EFSA J. 2023 Jun 12;21(6):e08025.]

South Korean researchers have given human subjects 6,000 milligrams per day for 12 weeks. [Regul Toxicol Pharmacol. 2022 Mar:129:105110.] There were no side effects.

In the meantime, both the Japanese Kyowa Hakko Bio [kyowahakko-bio.co.jp June 30th, 2023.] and the South Korean GeneChem [nutraingredients.com 20-Mar-2023.] have already built factories where genetically modified lactic acid bacteria produce 6-sialyllactose produce.

Study
Researchers from Korean GeneChem gave male C57BL/6J mice water in which they had dissolved 6-sialyllactose every day for 12 weeks. Mice in a control group were given only water.

If the mice in the experimental group had been adult humans, they would have been given 600-1000 milligrams of 6-sialyllactose daily.

Results
When, after 12 weeks of supplementation, the researchers made their mice run until they literally could no longer run, it turned out that the endurance of the animals that had received 6-sialyllactose was greater than that of the mice in the control group. Moreover, their muscle strength was greater than that of the mice in the control group.

Finally, 6-sialyllactose made the mice's muscles bigger. Supplementation increased the production of the contractile muscle protein myosin heavy chain [MHC].

Mechanism?
"Proposed mechanisms for improving muscle health include enhanced anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, increased expression of the mammalian target of the rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway, reduced protein degradation, and improved mitochondrial function."

Conclusion
"These findings suggest that 6-sialyllactose is both beneficial and safe for enhancing exercise performance", write the researchers. "To develop 6-sialyllactose as a dietary supplement to improve human exercise performance, testing in clinical settings including subjects such as athletes and sports enthusiasts will be required."

Source:
Nutrients. 2024 Aug 7;16(16):2600.

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