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S100B Protein concentration in milk-formulas for preterm and term infants. Correlation with industrial preparation
Francesco Nigro1, Luigi Gagliardi, Sabina Ciotti
1Department of Maternal, Fetal and Neonatal Health, G. Garibaldi Hospital, Catania, Italy.
Insights
S100B protein, vital for neurotrophic properties, is found in higher concentrations in preterm infant formulas than term ones. Industrial preparation, particularly spray-drying, significantly reduces S100B levels, necessitating new strategies to preserve this protein.
Area of Science:
- * Nutritional Science
- * Biochemistry
Background:
- * Human milk contains S100B protein, which has crucial neurotrophic properties.
- * Infant formulas often substitute human milk, raising questions about S100B content.
- * Understanding S100B stability in formulas is critical for infant nutrition.
Purpose of the Study:
- * To quantify S100B protein concentrations in commercial infant formulas.
- * To compare S100B levels between preterm and term infant formulas.
- * To evaluate the impact of industrial processing stages on S100B content.
Main Methods:
- * Analysis of commercial preterm (n=36) and term (n=36) infant formulas.
- * Measurement of S100B in preterm and term formulas at industrial preparation time points: skimmed milk, post-supplementation, post-pasteurization, and post-spray-drying.
- * Statistical analysis to determine significant differences in S100B concentrations.
Main Results:
- * Preterm infant formulas exhibited significantly higher S100B concentrations than term formulas (p < 0.01).
- * Industrial preparation led to a significant increase in S100B post-supplementation (p < 0.001), followed by stability during pasteurization (p > 0.05).
- * Spray-drying caused a significant reduction in S100B content (p < 0.001).
Conclusions:
- * S100B protein demonstrates adequate thermostability to withstand pasteurization.
- * Spray-drying significantly degrades S100B protein in infant formulas.
- * Novel infant feeding strategies are required to preserve S100B protein during manufacturing.
Abstract:
Human milk S100B protein possesses important neurotrophic properties. However, in some conditions human milk is substituted by milk formulas. The aims of the present study were: to assess S100B concentrations in milk formulas, to verify any differences in S100B levels between preterm and term infant formulas and to evaluate the impact of industrial preparation at predetermined phases on S100B content. Two different set of samples were tested: (i) commercial preterm (n = 36) and term (n = 36) infant milk formulas; ii) milk preterm (n = 10) and term infant (n = 10) formulas sampled at the following predetermined industrial preparation time points: skimmed cow milk (Time 0); after protein sources supplementation (Time 1); after pasteurization (Time 2); after spray-drying (Time 3). Our results showed that S100B concentration in preterm formulas were higher than in term ones (p < 0.01). In addition, S100B concentrations during industrial preparation showed a significant increase (p < 0.001) at Time 1 followed by a slight decrease (p > 0.05) at Time 2, whereas a significant (p < 0.001) dip was observed at Time 3. In conclusion, S100B showed a sufficient thermostability to resist pasteurization but not spry-drying. New feeding strategies in preterm and term infants are therefore warranted in order to preserve S100B protein during industrial preparation.
