Processed infant cereals as vehicles of functional components

Area of Science:

• * Nutritional Science
• * Pediatric Nutrition
• * Food Science

Background:

• * Cereals are globally prevalent complementary foods for infants.
• * Functional components can be added to cereals to address non-deficiency health issues.
• * Limited trials exist on functional components in infant cereals.

Purpose of the Study:

• * To review the current evidence on functional components added to infant cereals.
• * To identify potential health benefits and areas for future research.

Main Methods:

• * Literature review of published trials and studies on infant cereals supplemented with functional components.
• * Analysis of reported effects on infant health outcomes such as gastroenteritis, diarrhea, atopic eczema, and constipation.

Main Results:

• * Infant cereals with probiotics, prebiotics, and zinc showed efficacy in treating acute gastroenteritis alongside oral rehydration.
• * Milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) protein fraction in infant cereal reduced diarrhea risk in a developing country.
• * Probiotics or prebiotics in infant cereals show potential for preventing atopic eczema and improving constipation by softening stools.

Conclusions:

• * Functional components in infant cereals offer promising therapeutic and preventive health benefits.
• * Further studies are required to validate these findings and investigate other components like nucleotides and novel proteins.