Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 5, 2026

Individualized Reconstitution of Human Milk Microbiota: A Feasible Approach in Real-World Settings
Published on: February 7, 2025
Antioxidant capacity of human milk: effect of thermal conditions for the pasteurization
Dolores Silvestre1, Maria Miranda, Maria Muriach
1Department of Food Science and Technology. CEU-Cardenal Herrera University, Valencia, Spain. dsilves@uch.ceu.es
Aim:
Pasteurization is the thermal treatment usually applied in milk banks to eliminate the risk of transmission of infectious agents. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of heat processing upon the antioxidant properties of human milk.
Methods:
Milk samples collected from 31 healthy women were subjected to two different pasteurization techniques: Holder pasteurization (63 degrees C for 30 min) and high pasteurization (75 degrees C for 15 sec) and oxidative stress markers (glutathione, glutathione peroxidase activity, malondialdehyde and total antioxidant capacity) were determined in comparison to fresh milk.
Results:
Malondialdehyde concentration was the same in all samples, while there was a decrease in glutathione concentration and total antioxidant capacity in milk samples subjected to thermal processing versus fresh milk samples. However, the drop in these parameters was seen to be significantly greater when applying Holder pasteurization. Both thermal treatments induced considerable and similar loss of glutathione peroxidase activity.
Conclusion:
Thermal processing of human milk implies a decrease in its antioxidant properties but, when necessary, high pasteurization should be the election method in terms of milk oxidative status.
Related Concept Videos
Pasteurization and Food Preservation
Physical Methods for Controlling Microbial Growth: Temperature
Microbes in Food Production
Methods of Controlling Food Spoilage
Principles of Food Preservation
Temperature and Thermal Equilibrium
The concept of temperature has evolved from the common concepts of hot and cold. The scientific definition of temperature explains more than just our sense of hot and cold. Temperature is operationally defined as the quantity measured with a thermometer. Furthermore, temperature is...

