Microwave heating of foods may alter their content. Yet, parents commonly heat infant formula in the microwave oven. The study aimed at understanding whether microwave heating of formula changes its fatty acid (FA) composition. Portions of infant formula were prepared and divided in three parts: control (sampled twice: at the start and after 30 minutes), microwave (sampled twice: after reaching 37°C and 50°C), and water bath (sampled twice: after reaching 37°C and 50°C). In thus obtained samples, a total profile of 25 FA was assessed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Overall, fourteen portions were prepared, which were sampled 84 times yielding 2075 individual total FA level measurements. Few differences were identified between the microwave, control, and water bath groups. Microwave warming to 37°C was associated with increases of C12 (median increased by +0.40%, p = 0.0063), C14 (+0.05%, p = 0.0091), and C4 content (+6.90%, p = 0.0131). Microwaving up to 50°C slightly decreased C16:1trans (-5.00%, p = 0.0463) and C18:2trans1 (-5.13%, p = 0.0231). A paired comparison of pooled control and microwaved samples revealed increases in C12 (+0.18%, p = 0.0490) as well as a loss of C18:2trans1 (also -5.13%, p = 0.0073) and C18:2trans3 (-5.56%, p = 0.0042) after microwave treatment. C18:2trans1 (-2.63%, p = 0.0132) and C18:3trans1 (-2.26%, p = 0.0434) were lower in microwaved samples compared with the water bath. A slightly lower C18:2 content was found in the water bath samples than in the control groups (-0.11%, p = 0.0430). None of these differences would remain significant after a correction for multiple comparisons. Microwave heating of infant formula to 37°C or 50°C might marginally alter its total FA profile. Further studies are required to determine whether it alters the rate of free radical formation.

Specific partially hydrolysed whey-based infant formulas (pHF-W) have been shown to decrease the risk of atopic dermatitis (AD) in infants. Historically, AD has been associated primarily with milk allergy; however, defective skin barrier function can be a primary cause of AD. We aimed to ascertain whether oral supplementation with pHF-W can improve skin barrier function. The effect of pHF-W was assessed on transepidermal water loss (TEWL) and antibody productions in mice epicutaneously exposed to Aspergillus fumigatus. Human primary keratinocytes were stimulated in vitro, and the expression of genes related to skin barrier function was measured. Supplementation with pHF-W in neonatal mice led to a significant decrease in TEWL and total IgE, but not in allergen-specific antibody levels. The whey hydrolysate was sufficient to decrease both TEWL and total IgE. Aquaporin-3 gene expression, linked with skin hydration, was modulated in the skin of mice and human primary keratinocytes following protein hydrolysate exposure. Skin barrier improvement may be an additional mechanism by which pHF-W may potentially reduce the risk of AD development in infants. Further human studies are warranted to confirm the clinical efficacy of these observations.

Substantial evidence exists surrounding the health risks of breast milk substitutes (BMS) in place of exclusive breastfeeding among infants < 6 months of age in resource-poor settings. Yet, mothers' experiences of selecting and purchasing BMS brands have not been well studied to date. This qualitative study explored the factors influencing BMS purchasing practices, along with the consequences of those decisions, in peri-urban Lima, Peru.

Infant formulas are an alternative to replace or supplement human milk when breastfeeding is not possible. The knowledge of human milk's bioactive compounds and their beneficial effects has attracted the interest of researchers in the field of infant nutrition, as well as researchers of technology and food sciences that seek to improve the nutritional characteristics of infant formulas. Several scientific studies evaluate the optimization of infant formula composition. The bioactive compound inclusion has been used to upgrade the quality and nutrition of infant formulas. In this context, the purpose of this systematic literature review is to assess the scientific evidence of bioactive compounds present in infant formulas (α-lactalbumin, lactoferrin, taurine, milk fat globule membrane, folates, polyamines, long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, prebiotics, and probiotics) and their effects on infant nutrition and health. Through previously determined criteria, studies published in the last fifteen years from five different databases were included to identify the advances in the optimization of infant formula composition. Over the last few years, there has been optimization of the infant formula composition, not only to increase the similarities in their content of macro and micronutrients but also to include novel bioactive ingredients with potential health benefits for infants. Although the infant food industry has advanced in the last years, there is no consensus on whether novel bioactive ingredients added to infant formulas have the same functional effects as the compounds found in human milk. Thus, further studies about the impact of bioactive compounds in infant nutrition are fundamental to infant health.

Human milk oligosaccharides (HMO) are the third most abundant solid component of human milk. It is likely that they are responsible for at least some of the benefits experienced by breast-fed infants. Until recently HMO were absent from infant formula, but 2'-fucosyllactose (2'-FL) and lacto-N-neoteraose (LNnT) have recently become available as ingredients. The development of formula containing these HMO and the quality control of such formula require suitable methods for the accurate determination of the HMO. We developed two different approaches for analysis of 2'-FL and LNnT in formula; high performance anion exchange chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection (HPAEC-PAD) and hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection (HILIC-FLD). In lab trials using blank formula spiked with the two oligosaccharides, both approaches worked well with recoveries of 94⁻111% (HPAEC-PAD) and 94⁻104% (HILIC-FLD) and RSD (iR) of 2.1⁻7.9% (HPAEC-PAD) and 2.0⁻7.4% (HILIC-FLD). However, when applied to products produced in a pilot plant, the HPAEC-PAD approach sometimes delivered results below those expected from the addition rate of the ingredients. We hypothesize that the oligosaccharides interact with the formula matrix during the production process and, during sample preparation for HPAEC-PAD those interactions have not been broken. The conditions required for labeling the HMO for detection by the FLD apparently disrupt those interactions, and result in improved recoveries. It is likely that both analytical approaches are appropriate if a suitable extraction process is used to recover the HMO.

The World Health Organization International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes prohibits claims and other marketing that may confuse caregivers about benefits of formula and other milk-based drinks for infants and toddlers, but such marketing is common in the United States. This study assessed caregivers' provision of milk-based products to their infants and toddlers and potential confusion about product benefits and appropriate use. Online survey of 1,645 U.S. caregivers of infants (6-11 months) and toddlers (12-36 months). Respondents identified infant formula and toddler milk products they served their child (ren) and provided relative agreement with common marketing claims. Logistic regression assessed relationships between agreement and serving these products, controlling for individual characteristics. Over one-half of caregivers of infants (52%) agreed that infant formula can be better for babies' digestion and brain development than breastmilk, and 62% agreed it can provide nutrition not present in breastmilk. Most caregivers of toddlers (60%) agreed that toddler milks provide nutrition toddlers do not get from other foods. Some caregivers of infants (11%) reported serving toddler milk to their child most often. Agreement with marketing claims increased the odds of serving infant formula and/or toddler milks. For caregivers of toddlers, odds were higher for college-educated and lower for non-Hispanic White caregivers. Common marketing messages promoting infant formula and toddler milks may mislead caregivers about benefits and appropriateness of serving to young children. These findings support calls for public health policies and increased regulation of infant formula and toddler milks.

To verify the compliance with Law No. 11,265/2006 in the promotion strategies for infant formula in Brazilian websites of manufacturers and drugstore networks.

This study aimed at determination of heavy metals (cadmium, lead, and zinc) in milk-based infant formulas collected from Mekelle, Ethiopia, and their associated health risks to the infants through consumption of these products. The infant feeding samples were dry-ashed in a muffle furnace followed by digestion in nitric acid and the resulting solutions were analyzed by flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Cadmium was not detected in the samples while the levels of lead and zinc ranged from not detected value to 0.103 mg/kg and from 27.888 to 71.553 mg/kg, respectively. The estimated daily intake values and the health risk indices of both metals were below their respective safety limits and the threshold of 1, respectively. These findings show low infant health risk of these metals through consumption of these products. Nevertheless, regular monitoring of infant formula for toxic metals is required since infants are potentially more susceptible to metals.

Seizures are a common phenotype in many neurodevelopmental disorders including fragile X syndrome, Down syndrome and autism. We hypothesized that phytoestrogens in soy-based infant formula were contributing to lower seizure threshold in these disorders. Herein, we evaluated the dependence of seizure incidence on infant formula in a population of autistic children. Medical record data were obtained on 1,949 autistic children from the SFARI Simplex Collection. An autism diagnosis was determined by scores on the ADI-R and ADOS exams. The database included data on infant formula use, seizure incidence, the specific type of seizure exhibited and IQ. Soy-based formula was utilized in 17.5% of the study population. Females comprised 13.4% of the subjects. There was a 2.6-fold higher rate of febrile seizures [4.2% versus 1.6%, OR = 2.6, 95% CI = 1.3-5.3], a 2.1-fold higher rate of epilepsy comorbidity [3.6% versus 1.7%, OR = 2.2, 95% CI = 1.1-4.7] and a 4-fold higher rate of simple partial seizures [1.2% versus 0.3%, OR = 4.8, 95% CI = 1.0-23] in the autistic children fed soy-based formula. No statistically significant associations were found with other outcomes including: IQ, age of seizure onset, infantile spasms and atonic, generalized tonic clonic, absence and complex partial seizures. Limitations of the study included: infant formula and seizure data were based on parental recall, there were significantly less female subjects, and there was lack of data regarding critical confounders such as the reasons the subjects used soy formula, age at which soy formula was initiated and the length of time on soy formula. Despite these limitations, our results suggest that the use of soy-based infant formula may be associated with febrile seizures in both genders and with a diagnosis of epilepsy in males in autistic children. Given the lack of data on critical confounders and the retrospective nature of the study, a prospective study is required to confirm the association.

Infant formula is based on cow's milk and designed to mimic breast milk for substitution. Vitamin B12 (B12) is bound to proteins in both breast milk and cow's milk, and in milk from both species the vitamin occurs mainly in its natural form such as hydroxo-B12 with little or no synthetic B12 (cyano-B12). Here we test commercially available infant formulas.

Previous research has produced conflicting evidence on the preventive effects of early introduction of cow's milk protein on cow's milk allergy (CMA).

Cronobacter sakazakii is an emerging pathogen that causes meningitis, bacteremia, sepsis, and necrotizing enterocolitis in premature infants. Strain Cr268 was isolated from imported powdered infant formula in 2009 during routine microbial examination according to ISO-22964 ("Microbiology of the food chain-horizontal method for the detection of Cronobacter spp."). Isolate Cr268 was confirmed to be C. sakazakii by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) and standard biochemical analysis. Here, we announce its genome, which represents a new member in the C. sakazakii group.

Fatty acids in breast-milk such as docosahexaenoic acid and arachidonic acid, commonly known as DHA and ARA, contribute to the healthy development of children in various ways. However, the manufactured versions that are added to infant formula might not have the same health benefits as those in breast-milk. There is evidence that the manufactured additives might cause harm to infants' health, and they might lead to unwarranted increases in the cost of infant formula.The addition of such fatty acids to infant formula needs to be regulated. In the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration has primary responsibility for regulating the composition of infant formula. The central purpose of this study is to assess the FDA's efforts with regard to the regulation of fatty acids in infant formula.

α-Tocopherol (αT) in its natural form [2'R, 4'R, 8'R αT (RRR-αT)] is more bioactive than synthetic α-tocopherol (all rac-αT). All rac-αT is widely used in infant formulas, but its accretion in formula-fed infant brain is unknown.

Protein concentration is lower in human milk (HM) than in infant formula. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of an α-lactalbumin-enriched formula with a lower protein concentration on infant growth, protein markers and biochemistries.

The influx of maternal oral microbes is considered to play an important role in the acquisition and development of infant oral microbiota. In this study, we examined tongue swab samples from 448 mother-infant pairs at 4-month checkups. The bacterial composition of each sample was determined using PacBio single-molecule long-read sequencing of the full-length 16S rRNA gene and the amplicon sequence variant (ASV) approach. Although the infant oral microbiota was distinctly different from the mother oral microbiota, ASVs shared with their biological mother accounted for a median relative abundance of 9.7% (range of 0.0 to 99.3%), which was significantly higher than that of ASVs shared with unrelated mothers. This shared abundance was strongly associated with the feeding method of infants rather than their delivery mode or antibiotic exposure, and formula-fed infants had higher shared abundance than exclusively breastfed infants. Our study presents strain-level evidence for mother-to-infant transmission of oral bacteria and suggests that colonization of maternal oral bacteria is higher in formula-fed infants. IMPORTANCE Acquisition of oral bacteria during infancy can affect the subsequent formation of stable oral microbiota. This study focused on the mother-to-infant transmission of oral bacteria, a major acquisition route of infant oral microbiota, and demonstrated that most infants acquired oral bacteria from their biological mother even at the single-nucleotide level. Our results also indicated that the occupancies of maternal oral bacteria in infant oral microbiota were associated with the feeding methods of infants. These data could increase understanding of the early development of oral microbiota in infants and its potential associations with oral microbiota-related diseases.

There is a growing consensus that nutritional programming may persist and influence risk for several chronic diseases in adulthood. In the present study, we used urinary metabolic analysis in assessing diet effects on early-life metabolism. Urine samples from healthy three-month-old infants fed human milk (HM; n = 93), cow's milk-based infant formula [MF; n = 80], or soy protein-based infant formula (SF; n = 76) were analyzed with an untargeted metabolomics approach using GC-TOF MS. PLS-DA and ANOVA analyses were performed using MetaboAnalyst (v4.0). A total of 150 metabolites differed significantly among the feeding groups, including dietary-specific patterns of urinary metabolites of sugars, sugar alcohols, amino acids, and polyphenols. Urinary metabolites may mirror the infant's overall metabolism and serve as a noninvasive tool to examine the neonatal effects of diet on early-infant metabolism.

We introduce the draft genome sequences of five enterotoxigenic Bacillus cereus strains: Bc 12, Bc 67, Bc 111, Bc 112, and Bc 113, which were obtained from powdered infant formula. The genome sizes of the strains ranged from 5.5 to 5.8 Mb, and the G+C contents were ~35.2%.

Infant formula (IF) is a commonly used replacement whenever mother's own milk is not available. Most IFs are based on cow milk (powders, liquids). Alternatives, based on other sources such as goat milk or plants, exist. Independent of the source, IF production and composition are strictly regulated. Besides proteins, minerals, and lipids, milk contains a variety of endogenous peptides. Whereas the human milk peptidome has been studied intensively, the peptidomes of IFs have been mostly neglected. This study investigated the peptidomes of different types of first stage IF, including cow milk-based powders and liquids, and powdered goat milk-based IF, highlighting major similarities and differences to human milk. Extracted native peptidomes were analyzed by nanoRPC-ESI-MS/MS using two different fragmentation techniques allowing the confident identification of 1587 peptides. β-Casein peptides dominated in all samples. Interestingly, powdered and liquid cow milk-based IFs differed in the numbers of β- and αS1-casein peptides, indicating processing-derived variations. However, the peptidomes of cow and goat milk-based IF appeared to be more comparable to each other than to human milk. Despite an overlap in the major source proteins, many peptide sequences were different, i.e., species-specific. Remarkably, the data indicate that the human milk peptidome might be donor-specific as well.

Polyamines play a critical role in the development of intestinal and immune systems during the infant breastfeeding period, but the effect of polyamines on the microbiota has not been reported. The aim of our study was to characterize the impact on the colonization pattern in neonatal BALB/cOlaHsd mice after supplementing an infant formula (IF) with a mixture of putrescine (PUT), spermidine (SPD) and spermine (SPM). A total of 48 pups (14 days old) were randomly assigned to 4-day intervention groups as follows: breast-fed (unweaned) pups (n=12); weaned pups (n=12) fed an infant formula (IF); weaned pups (n=12) fed an IF enriched with a low concentration of PUT, SPD and SPM (2.10, 22.05 and 38.00 μg/day, respectively); and weaned pups (n=12) fed with IF enriched with a high concentration of PUT, SPD and SPM (8.40, 88.20 and 152.00 μg/day, respectively) of polyamines in accordance with normal proportions found in human milk. Microbiota composition was analyzed by fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) with flow cytometry detection. Microbiota changes in formula-fed mice were significantly greater following supplementation with polyamines (P<.01). Bifidobacterium group bacteria, Akkermansia-like bacteria and Lactobacillus-Enterococcus group levels were higher in the groups fed infant formula supplemented with polyamines, resulting in even higher numbers of bacteria than in the breastfed pups. Our findings indicate that infant formulas enriched with polyamines may interact with gut microbiota, suggesting that further studies in human infants are required to assess the impact of polyamines on both growth and microbiota levels.