A comparative study of human milk fat substitute from Rhodococcus opacus and plant-oil based commercial products

Abstract

Human milk fat substitute is an important structured lipid intended for infant formula. This present study compared human milk fat substitute from R. opacus with commercial product and evaluated whether it is qualified for infant formula. It was proven that both human milk fat substitute and commercial product were mainly composed of C16:0 and C18:1 in total fatty acid composition. Human milk fat substitute contained high level of C16:0 at sn-2 position (54.57%) and high level of 1,3-dioleoyl-2-palmitoylglycerol (37.94%), which was in accordance with human milk fat and commercial product. In addition, relative high level of odd chain fatty acids (1.56%) and C16:1 (7.27%) was identified, which made human milk fat substitute unique. Human milk fat substitute was short of medium-chain fatty acids, such as C8:0, C10:0 and polyunsaturated fatty acids, such as, eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid. In conclusion, human milk fat substitute from R. opacus was qualified as a component for infant formula in term of fatty acid composition and triacylglycerol.