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Quantification of phospholipids in infant formula and growing up milk by high-performance liquid chromatography with
Marcel Braun1, Brigitte Flück, Claudia Cotting
1Nestlé Product Technology Centre, Konolfingen, Switzerland.
Insights
A new HPLC method accurately quantifies major milk phospholipids (phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, sphingomyelin) in infant formulas. This supports the accurate labeling of dairy products containing these vital compounds.
Area of Science:
- Food Chemistry
- Analytical Chemistry
- Biochemistry
Background:
- Phospholipids (PLs) are crucial for cell membranes and offer health benefits like immune support and brain development.
- In dairy, PLs constitute 0.2-1% of milk fat, with phosphatidylcholine (PC), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), and sphingomyelin (SPH) being major components.
- Emerging dairy products highlight PL content, necessitating precise quantification methods.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate a reliable analytical method for quantifying major milk phospholipid families.
- To ensure accurate nutritional information and product claims for dairy products, particularly infant and growing-up formulas.
Main Methods:
- High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) coupled with an Evaporative Light Scattering Detector (ELSD) was employed.
- The method focused on quantifying the most abundant milk PLs: PC, PE, and SPH.
- Validation was performed for application in infant formula and growing-up milk matrices.
Main Results:
- A validated HPLC-ELSD method was successfully established for the quantification of PC, PE, and SPH.
- The method demonstrated reliability for analyzing these key phospholipids in complex dairy matrices like infant formula.
- This provides a crucial tool for the dairy industry to accurately assess and declare PL content.
Conclusions:
- The developed HPLC-ELSD method offers a validated approach for quantifying major milk phospholipid families.
- Accurate quantification is essential for the growing market of dairy products with specific PL claims.
- This method supports quality control and nutritional transparency in infant and growing-up milk formulations.
Abstract:
Phospholipids (PLs) are well known for their excellent emulsifier properties and more recently for their biological functions, such as cell signing, brain development, immune function, heart health, and cancer prevention, besides their physiological role in membrane composition. In dairy products, PLs represent 0.2-1% of milk fat. The milk PLs comprise phosphatidylcholine (PC), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), and sphingomyelin (SPH) as the major compounds; phosphatidylinositol and phosphatidylserine are minor PLs. A new generation of dairy products claiming PL family content, such as SPH, is being produced; therefore, a validated method for quantifying PL families in dairy products is needed. In this study, an HPLC-evaporative light scattering detector method to quantify the most abundant milk PL families, i.e., PC, PE, and SPH, in infant formula and growing up milk was developed and validated.
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