The quest for breast milk

Breast milk has high concentrations of osteopontin for immunity
Breast milk has high concentrations of osteopontin for immunity

Related tags Arla foods ingredients Infant formula Milk

Feeding babies with infant formula enriched with Arla Foods Ingredients’ Lacprodan OPN-10 supports their immune development, according to the results of a new trial.

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.

Related topics NPD Dairy

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