Effect of formula thickened with locust bean gum on gastric emptying in infants

We investigated the effects of milk-based formulas thickened with two different concentrations of locust bean gum on gastric emptying in infants with recurrent regurgitation episodes.

Thirty-nine infants with three or more episodes of regurgitation per day but no complications who were fed mainly with infant formula were studied. We first compared gastric emptying in infants fed with formulas thickened with two different concentrations of locust bean gum (HL-350, 0.35 g/100 mL; HL-450, 0.45 g/100 mL) or a regular formula (HL-00). To evaluate gastric emptying, we measured antral cross-sectional areas ultrasonographically at various time points after feeding. Next, to investigate the clinical effect of thickened formulas on regurgitation episodes, 27 infants with episodes were assigned randomly to receive HL-350 and HL-00 or HL-450 and HL-00 for 1 week each.

Antral cross-sectional areas at 60, 90, 120 and 150 min with HL-450, and at 60 min with HL-350, were greater than with HL-00. The median gastric emptying rate at 120 min with HL-450 (52.8%) was lower than with HL-00 (97.9%; P = 0.0019), while HL-350 (80.3%) and HL-00 did not differ significantly. The mean number of regurgitation episodes was significantly smaller when infants were fed with either HL-350 or HL-450 than with HL-00.

HL-450, a thickened formula with typical commercially available concentrations of locust bean gum, slowed gastric emptying in infants with gastroesophageal reflux.