A clinical study involving 96 healthy babies has investigated whether the whey protein fraction alpha-lactalbumin can give infant formula a nutritional profile more closely related to that of human breast milk – particularly when the content of the protein glycomacropeptide (GMP) is correspondingly reduced.
The background for conducting the study was alpha-lactalbumin’s high content of the amino acid tryptophan, a typical limiting factor in infant formula, and GMP’s high content of threonine, which may cause higher plasma levels in formula-fed infants. Using an infant formula with added alpha-lactalbumin and reduced GMP, the study examined the effect on the amino acid composition of infant plasma.
At the end of the six-month study, the results showed that the plasma of infants fed the experimental formula contained higher
concentrations of most amino acids. The infants also showed a weight gain similar to that of breast-fed babies. This suggests that a reduction in the total protein content of infant formula is possible, bringing it closer to that of breast milk.
Arla Foods Ingredients conducted the study in cooperation with the University of Umeå in Sweden and the University of California in the US. Its findings were presented at the Experimental Biology conference in San Francisco and the ESPGHAN conference in Dresden earlier this year. Articles describing the study will be published shortly.