The quest for breast milk

Lotte Neergaard Jacobsen, nutrition scientist at Arla Foods Ingredients, says: “The development of Lacprodan OPN-10 is part of the quest to create infant formula that is more like breast milk. The results from this clinical study show that we have moved a step closer to achieving this.”​

Lacprodan OPN-10 is made from osteopontin: a whey protein associated with the maturation of the infant immune system. It occurs in high concentrations in human milk – about 138mg per litre – but in lower concentrations in bovine milk (about 15mg per litre). This means infants fed regular formula have a limited intake compared with their breastfed counterparts.

Significant missing link ​

Jacobsen says: “Osteopontin in the form of Lacprodan OPN-10 could be a significant missing link in creating infant formula that can deliver a similar level of immune protection to that offered by mother’s milk.”​

In a clinical trial, researchers at China’s Fundan University Hospital and the University of California found that the babies who were given infant formula supplemented with Lacprodan OPN-10 experienced a similar number of days of fever to those fed breast milk, and a reduced number of days of fever compared with a control group fed ordinary infant formula.