Feeding the microbiota-gut-brain axis: Nucleotides and their role in early life

Nucleotides ingested from breast milk and complementary foods during infancy play a vital role in the development of the immune and nervous system, as well as the maturation of gut function, and are considered a "special dietary nutrient." Based on the existing research progress and theoretical basis, this review takes the distribution of dietary nucleotides (NTs) in the early life (after birth to the age of 3 years) diet and the in vivo metabolism/absorption process as the starting point and expounds on its potential impact and mechanism of action on early gastrointestinal and brain development. With the understanding of gut microbiota (GM), the interaction between dietary factors and GM has become a focus of food research. It is of great significance to reexamine the biological effects of early dietary nucleotide intake on infant gut-brain development from the perspective of the GM-gut-brain axis. This paper reveals the potential relationship between the NTs-GM-gut-brain axis and provides new ideas and theories for the research and application of NTs in the field of infant nutrition.