Ingrediente rico en membrana del glóbulo graso de la leche (MFGM) como fuente de gangliósidos en preparados para lactantes

Abstract

Introduction: Gangliosides (GG) are important bioactive compounds for the newborn (normal neuron development, immune system, etc.), present in human milk (HM) and in lesser amounts in infant formulas (IFs). With the aim of evaluating the influence of the addition of an ingredient rich in milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) and in order to obtain amounts of GG similar to those found in HM, the total GG content was determined in several IFs marketed in Europe. In addition, the GG intake by infants fed with these formulas was estimated. Material and methods: Thirteen powdered cows’ milk-based IFs marketed in Europe were analyzed by spectrophotometry, us-ing the resorcinol method. To estimate GG intake, average IF volume of 1,113 newborn corresponding to the first 6 months of life, obtained from the literature, were used. Results and discussion: The total content of GG of the 13 IFs ranges between 0.30 to 2.69 mg ASUL/L, presenting the highest contents of GG, the IFs enriched with MFGM (1.23-2.69 mg ASUL/L). Of the IFs enriched with MFGM, the higher statistically signif-icant value (p <0.05) was found in IF-6. The dairy intake of GG was higher in IF enriched with MFGM and independently of IF rang-es from 0.58 to 0.94 mg ASUL/day. Conclusions: The addition of ingredients rich in MFGM in IFs improves the content and daily intake of GG.