Garlic Ingestion by Pregnant Women Alters the Odor of Amniotic Fluid

Mennella, Julie A.; Johnson, Anthony; Beauchamp, Gary K.

doi:10.1093/chemse/20.2.207

Cited by 278 publications

(125 citation statements)

References 11 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

117

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Moreover, it has been shown that flavours from the mothers' diet are transmitted through amniotic fluid (39) and later though breast milk (40,41) . Therefore, flavours and components consumed in the mothers' diet are associated with, and may have a significant effect on, feeding preferences and practices in later life.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dietary patterns and breast-feeding in Australian children

Grieger

Jordan

Cobiac

2011

Public Health Nutr.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dietary patterns and breast-feeding in Australian children

Grieger

Jordan

Cobiac

2011

Public Health Nutr.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…11,12 Moreover, the environment from which the newborn came, the amnion, contains compounds derived from flavors of foods eaten by the pregnant mother. 13,14 Such exposure to dietary transmitted flavors (eg, garlic, anise) in amniotic fluid has been shown to influence the newborn's facial, mouthing, and orienting responses to the flavor in the short-term. 15,16 Because some of these same flavors will later be experienced in breast milk, [17][18][19][20] the fetus and breastfed infant experience the flavors of their mother's diet before their first exposure to these flavors in solid foods.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Prenatal and Postnatal Flavor Learning by Human Infants

2001

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

ABSTRACT. Background. Flavors from the mother's diet during pregnancy are transmitted to amniotic fluid and swallowed by the fetus. Consequently, the types of food eaten by women during pregnancy and, hence, the flavor principles of their culture may be experienced by the infants before their first exposure to solid foods. Some of these same flavors will later be experienced by infants in breast milk, a liquid that, like amniotic fluid, comprises flavors that directly reflect the foods, spices, and beverages eaten by the mother. The present study tested the hypothesis that experience with a flavor in amniotic fluid or breast milk modifies the infants' acceptance and enjoyment of similarly flavored foods at weaning.Methods. Pregnant women who planned on breastfeeding their infants were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 groups. The women consumed either 300 mL of carrot juice or water for 4 days per week for 3 consecutive weeks during the last trimester of pregnancy and then again during the first 2 months of lactation. The mothers in 1 group drank carrot juice during pregnancy and water during lactation; mothers in a second group drank water during pregnancy and carrot juice during lactation, whereas those in the control group drank water during both pregnancy and lactation. Approximately 4 weeks after the mothers began complementing their infants' diet with cereal and before the infants had ever been fed foods or juices containing the flavor of carrots, the infants were videotaped as they fed, in counterbalanced order, cereal prepared with water during 1 test session and cereal prepared with carrot juice during another. Immediately after each session, the mothers rated their infants' enjoyment of the food on a 9-point scale.Results. The results demonstrated that the infants who had exposure to the flavor of carrots in either amniotic fluid or breast milk behaved differently in response to that flavor in a food base than did nonexposed control infants. Specifically, previously exposed infants exhibited fewer negative facial expressions while feeding the carrot-flavored cereal compared with the plain cereal, whereas control infants whose mothers drank water during pregnancy and lactation exhibited no such difference. Moreover, those infants who were exposed to carrots prenatally were perceived by their mothers as enjoying the carrot-flavored cereal more compared with the plain cereal. Although these same tendencies were observed for the amount of cereal consumed and the length of the feeds, these findings were not statistically significant. Conclusions.Prenatal and early postnatal exposure to a flavor enhanced the infants' enjoyment of that flavor in solid foods during weaning. These very early flavor experiences may provide the foundation for cultural and ethnic differences in cuisine. Pediatrics 2001;107(6). URL: http://www.pediatrics.org/cgi/content/full/107/6/ e88; infant nutrition, prenatal, lactation, weaning, flavor, development, preferences.ABBREVIATIONS. CW, carrot juice during pregnancy and water during lactat...

show abstract

“…Evidence suggests that olfactory properties of breast milk overlap those of amniotic fluid, and that the positive or reinforcing qualities of amniotic fluid odor for newborns is soon superceded by those of breast milk (Varendi, Porter, & Winberg, 1997). The chemosensory properties of both amniotic fluid and breast milk depend on maternal diet (Mennella & Beauchamp, 1991;Mennella, Johnson, & Beauchamp, 1995). According to an emerging model of olfactory learning and feeding ecology among mammals, iterative exposure to odorants derived from maternal diet serve to influence dietary preferences of the infant, so that they in effect receive a dietary preference "education" via odorants in their primary, maternally derived, source of nutrition (Galef & Henderson, 1972;Mennella, Jagnow, & Beauchamp, 2001).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%