Learning from nature for a healthier start Staged infant formulas with Lacprodan mimic the changing protein profile of breast milk

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1 Learning from nature for a healthier start Staged infant formulas with Lacprodan mimic the changing protein profile of breast milk By Lotte Neergaard Jacobsen Arla Foods Ingredients. May

2 ABSTRACT The composition of human milk changes dynamically throughout lactation to meet the changing nutritional needs of develop ing infants. In contrast, traditional infant formulas offer a static diet from birth. Traditional formulas also include significantly higher overall levels of protein than breast milk, which typically leads to more rapid growth in bottle-fed babies. This extra growth can be associated with obesity and other health concerns in later life. Arla Foods Ingredients offers an improved approach for infant formula producers that will enable them to deliver staged infant nutrition that mimics the changing profile of proteins in breast milk. The Lacprodan family of ingredients can be used in varying proportions to adjust the protein content of formula to suit infants at four different stages of development during the first six months. The quality of the whey proteins in Lacprodan is extremely high, with an amino acid profile that closely matches the needs of infants. This enables formulators to reduce the overall amount of protein in their products while continuing to deliver the right balance of amino acids to support normal growth and promote healthy brain, intestinal and immune system development. INTRODUCTION The infant diet plays a huge role in ensuring a healthy start in life and can influence wellbeing into adulthood. Human milk will always be the gold standard for infant nutrition, but significant strides continue to be made that enable formula-fed babies to enjoy more of the long-term health benefits experienced by breast-fed infants. Arla Food Ingredients has developed the concept of infant formula staging to help formula-fed infants switch from a static diet that doesn t alter through the first six months to a dynamic diet that varies in a way that resembles the changing composition of human milk. By adding the right blend of specialised ingredient fractions to a basic formula, producers can now develop age-specific products that deliver nutrients to meet a growing infant s evolving needs. This staging approach means infant formulas can provide the right nutrients in the right amounts at the right time, to suit precisely the infant s growth and development. BENEFITS AT A GLANCE Staged formulas mimic the changing nutritional profile of breast milk more closely The high-quality whey protein fractions in Lacprodan provide the optimum amino acid profile An optimal profile makes it possible to deliver everything infants need in formulas with lower overall protein levels Lower-protein formulas encourage growth patterns that resemble those of healthy, breast-fed babies Studies show that Lacprodan ingredients from Arla Foods Ingredients actively support healthy brain, gut and immune system development

3 THE GOLD STANDARD HOW HUMAN MILK VARIES OVER TIME The most significant changes in the composition of human milk occur during the first few weeks after a baby is born, as shown in Figure 1. The first milk colostrum is very high in protein. This drops away rapidly during the first month of life, with a much slower decline in the months that follow. In addition, the ratio of the two main sources of protein whey and casein also varies with time, with casein virtually undetectable in the first few days Casein Whey Total protein 10 8 g/l end Days postpartum Figure 1. How the protein content and composition of human milk varies naturally over time THE LIMITATIONS OF CONVENTIONAL INFANT FORMULAS Despite the regular nutritional changes seen in human milk, conventional infant formula currently offers only two categories: starter (for 0-6 months) and follow-on (for 6-1 months). At around 1-17g/L of protein, the protein content of traditional infant formulas is considerably higher than that of breast milk. In addition, while protein levels in human milk start at around 16g/L per litre and fall away over time to approximately 7g/L per litre, starter formulas tend to contain lower levels of protein and follow-on milks higher levels. This is at odds with the pattern displayed by human milk and the result is that formula-fed infants typically ingest between 50% and 80% more protein than breast-fed infants. Consequently, the growth pattern of formula-fed infants is quite different from that of breast-fed babies. Both follow a similar growth curve in the first three or four months, before formula-fed infants start to grow more quickly. This is not ideal, because there is strong evidence that faster weight gain in infancy is associated with a long-term risk of obesity a process known as metabolic programming. 3

4 Formulators have historically had to include high levels of protein in their products to ensure that infants are not missing out on the essential amino acids that they need for successful development. But by using Lacprodan ingredients in combination with the staged formula approach developed by Arla Foods Ingredients, it is now possible to tailor the profile of proteins to resemble the amino acid composition found in breast milk throughout the first six months of life. This ensures that infants can get everything they need in a lower-protein diet. INFANT FORMULA STAGING WITH LACPRODAN Lacprodan ingredients can be added to a basic formula in varying proportions to create products that offer a similar protein content to human milk at different stages of lactation. Breast milk also provides infants with a range of other bioactive ingredients in addition to protein, and these can be obtained from fractions of bovine milk that should also be added to any effective formula. Table 1 shows a possible model for staged formulas using four ingredients from Arla Foods Ingredients: Lacprodan MFGM- 10, Lacprodan PL-0, Lacprodan OPN-10 and Lacprodan ALPHA-10/0. Your challenges UNIT STAGE 1 (0-½ month) STAGE (½-1 month) STAGE 3 (1-3 months) STAGE 4 (3-6 months) Energy kcal Protein g Carbohydrates g Total fat g Zinc mg Iron mg Alpha-lactalbumin (incl. Lacprodan ALPHA-10) g Lacprodan MFGM-10 g Lacprodan OPN-10 mg Lacprodan PL-0 mg Whey : Casein ratio 90:10 80:0 80:0 70:30 Table 1: A model proposal for infant formula staging Lacprodan MFGM-10 is a whey protein concentrate with a high concentration of bioactive proteins and phospholipids, which are important for cognitive and intestinal development in infants. A human infant clinical study has demonstrated that Lacprodan MFGM-10 is capable of reducing the prevalence of diarrhoea in infants regardless of the cause. 4

5 Lacprodan PL-0 is a milk protein concentrate rich in phospholipids and gangliosides, which studies have shown to be important for an infant s cognitive and intestinal development. Lacprodan OPN-10 is an osteopontin (OPN) fraction from bovine milk. In vitro studies have indicated that OPN influences immune development and response. Arla Foods Ingredients is currently conducting a human infant clinical trial with Lacprodan OPN-10. Lacprodan ALPHA-10 and ALPHA-0 are extremely nutritious native whey protein concentrates with a high content of alpha-lactalbumin. In low-protein infant formulas, alpha-lactalbumin plays a key role in simulating human milk in terms of protein concentration. A human infant clinical study has demonstrated that the growth patterns and microflora composition of infants fed a Lacprodan ALPHA-10/0 formula more closely resembled that of breastfed infants. CONCLUSION The staging of infant formulas has the potential to improve the growth and development patterns of formula-fed infants. By adjusting the profile of proteins at different stages in the first six months after birth, staged formulas using Lacprodan protein fractions from Arla Foods Ingredients offer an evolving nutrition profile that mimics the way breast milk varies over time. Furthermore, Lacprodan protein fractions are extracted from high-quality whey proteins and provide an ideal amino acid profile to meet the needs of developing infants. This means that formula manufacturers can reduce the overall quantity of protein in their products to levels that are closer to those found in breast milk, but still provide all the amino acids that formula-fed infants need to develop healthily and grow at a similar rate to breast-fed infants. This combination of improvements may provide long-term health benefits for formula-fed infants that extend all the way into adulthood. REFERENCES Dewey & Lönnerdal J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. : Koletzko et al Am J Clin Nutr. 89: Kunz & Lönnerdal 199. Acta Pædiatr. 81: Lönnerdal et al Am J Clin Nutr. 9: Lönnerdal 003. Am J Clin Nutr. 77: Zavaleta et al J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 53: rod Arla Foods Ingredients Group P/S Sønderhøj 10-1 DK-860 Viby J Denmark Tel Fax ingredients@arlafoods.com All rights to the information contained herein belong to Arla Foods Ingredients P/S. The information is confidential and may not be disclosed to third parties or exploited by users without prior written consent. Statements contained herein do not constitute permission to infringe any patent or license rights. The information contained herein is reliable to the best of our knowledge. The details given are intended only as a source of information. Users should evaluate the products to determine their suitability for the user s own specific purposes and compliance with relevant food legislation. No warranties, expressed or implied, are made.

Ingredients for the next generation

Arla Foods Ingredients Ingredients for the next generation Using infant formulas is second to breastfeeding, a fact supported by WHO. This information is for professional use only. 002 003 Infant nutrition