Abstract
Although the literature on the Maillard reaction in infant formulas is extensive, most studies have focused on model systems, and in only a few cases on real food systems. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to determine the status of the Maillard reaction, both the early and advanced phases, in a variety of commercial infant formulas available on the Swedish market. Ten powder and liquid milk-based infant formulas from three manufacturers were selected to determine available lysine and CML contents, the two established indicators of the reaction. The products were also characterized with respect to protein content, carbohydrates composition, water content and water activity. In order to be able to compare the impact of different processing steps applied on powder and liquid formulas, the solid formulas contained similar ingredients as their corresponding liquid ones. Our findings showed that powder and liquid formulas contained similar available lysine concentrations regardless of the manufacturer, showing 27.14–36.57% decrease in the available lysine, compared to the reference skim milk powder in this study. The CML concentrations were in a broad range of 68.77–507.99 mg / kg protein. In the case of one manufacturer, liquid infant formulas had significantly higher CML content, compared to the powder products (p < 0.05). The results from this study are a step taken towards better understanding of the extent of the Maillard reaction in real complex systems of infant formulas.
Highlights
IntroductionInfant formulas (IF) developed as substitutes for human milk are usually based on cow’s milk and cow’s milk-derived ingredients
Infant formulas (IF) developed as substitutes for human milk are usually based on cow’s milk and cow’s milk-derived ingredients. They are mainly composed of milk proteins, lactose, vegetable oils, starch, and cereal proteins such as wheat, oat, maize as well as minerals and vitamins to meet the nutritional requirements of infants
Among the analyzed carbohydrates there is a large variation on the content of each sugar among samples, independent of being a powder or liquid formulation, but seemingly more related
Summary
Infant formulas (IF) developed as substitutes for human milk are usually based on cow’s milk and cow’s milk-derived ingredients. They are mainly composed of milk proteins (casein and whey proteins), lactose, vegetable oils, starch, and cereal proteins such as wheat, oat, maize as well as minerals and vitamins to meet the nutritional requirements of infants. The composition of human milk protein is 40% casein and 60% whey proteins, compared to cow’s milk protein which contains 80% casein and 20% whey proteins [1]
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