Fat is an important component of human milk, delivering approx. 50-60% of the energy an infant requires. As well as this, the fat in human milk supplies the baby with valuable nutrients, such as essential fatty acids, fat-soluble vitamins and cholesterol. This fat has a specific structure, to ensure that it is properly absorbed in the gastrointestinal tract upon digestion
Innis, S. M. (2011). Dietary triacylglycerol structure and its role in infant nutrition. In Advances in Nutrition. https://doi.org/10.3945/an.111.000448
Ramírez, M., Amate, L., & Gil, A. (2001). Absorption and distribution of dietary fatty acids from different sources. Early Human Development. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-3782(01)00211-0
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Human milk fat and bovine milk fat show many structural similarities, in both the profile and distribution of fatty acids over the sn-1, sn-2 and sn-3 positions
Hageman, J. H. J., Danielsen, M., Nieuwenhuizen, A. G., Feitsma, A. L., & Dalsgaard, T. K. (2019). Comparison of bovine milk fat and vegetable fat for infant formula: Implications for infant health. International Dairy Journal, 92, 37–49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.idairyj.2019.01.005
. As a result, adding the right amount of dairy lipids to infant formula can help to: optimise fat composition and structure, support fat digestion and absorption
Manios, Y., Karaglani, E., Thijs-Verhoeven, I., Vlachopapadopoulou, E., Papazoglou, A., Maragoudaki, E., Manikas, Z., Kampani, T.-M., Christaki, I., Vonk, M. M., Bos, R., & Parikh, P. (2020). Effect of milk fat-based infant formulae on stool fatty acid soaps and calcium excretion in healthy term infants: two double-blind randomised cross-over trials. BMC Nutrition, 6(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40795-020-00365-4
and deliver energy and nutrients.
Fat is an important component of human milk, delivering approx. 50-60% of the energy an infant requires. In addition to this, fat in human milk also supplies the baby with valuable nutrients, such as essential fatty acids, fat-soluble vitamins and cholesterol. The nutritional lipids under the Vivinal® brand have been developed to optimise fat blends for infant milk formulas. Dairy lipids naturally contain a higher percentage of sn-2 positioned palmitic acid, one of the major LCSFAs in both human and cow’s milk, compared to traditional vegetable fat blends
Hageman, J. H. J., Danielsen, M., Nieuwenhuizen, A. G., Feitsma, A. L., & Dalsgaard, T. K. (2019). Comparison of bovine milk fat and vegetable fat for infant formula: Implications for infant health. International Dairy Journal, 92, 37–49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.idairyj.2019.01.005
. For the immature gastrointestinal tract of infants, the positioning of LCSFAs is important to support nutrient availability and digestive comfort
Quinlan, P. T., Lockton, S., Irwin, J., & Lucas, A. L. (1995). Literature Reviews: Pediatric Gastroenterology: The Relationship Between Stool Hardness and Stool Composition in Breast- and Formula-Fed Infants Quinlan PT, Lockton S, Irwin J, et al. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 1995;20:81-90. Clinical Pediatrics. https://doi.org/10.1177/000992289503400609
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The structure of triglycerides, i.e. the positioning of the fatty acids on the glycerol backbone, is of key importance during digestion and absorption of fatty acids
Delplanque, B., Gibson, R., Koletzko, B., Lapillonne, A., & Strandvik, B. (2015). Lipid Quality in Infant Nutrition: Current Knowledge and Future Opportunities. In Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition. https://doi.org/10.1097/MPG.0000000000000818
. LCSFAs such as palmitic acid are best absorbed when positioned in the sn-2 position of the glycerol backbone in triglycerides
Innis, S. M. (2011). Dietary triacylglycerol structure and its role in infant nutrition. In Advances in Nutrition. https://doi.org/10.3945/an.111.000448
. Fatty acids positioned at sn-1 and sn-3 position are released as free fatty acids during fat digestion. Free LCSFAs can potentially form insoluble fatty acid soap complexes with minerals such as calcium. Besides the limited bioavailability of calcium and fatty acids
López-López, A., Castellote-Bargalló, A. I., Campoy-Folgoso, C., Rivero-Urgel, M., Tormo-Carnicé, R., Infante-Pina, D., & López-Sabater, M. C. (2001). The influence of dietary palmitic acid triacylglyceride position on the fatty acid, calcium and magnesium contents of at term newborn faeces. Early Human Development. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-3782(01)00210-9
, fatty acid soap complexes are associated with constipation and gut discomfort in infants
Quinlan, P. T., Lockton, S., Irwin, J., & Lucas, A. L. (1995). Literature Reviews: Pediatric Gastroenterology: The Relationship Between Stool Hardness and Stool Composition in Breast- and Formula-Fed Infants Quinlan PT, Lockton S, Irwin J, et al. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 1995;20:81-90. Clinical Pediatrics. https://doi.org/10.1177/000992289503400609
. Specific fat sources such as natural cow’s milk fat contain a higher percentage of sn-2 positioned LCSFAs in comparison to standard vegetable fat blends
Hageman, J. H. J., Danielsen, M., Nieuwenhuizen, A. G., Feitsma, A. L., & Dalsgaard, T. K. (2019). Comparison of bovine milk fat and vegetable fat for infant formula: Implications for infant health. International Dairy Journal, 92, 37–49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.idairyj.2019.01.005
. Infant milk formulas with a higher sn-2 palmitate content have been shown to lead to lower fatty acid soap complexes in stool samples
Nowacki, J., Lee, H. C., Lien, R., Cheng, S. W., Li, S. T., Yao, M., Northington, R., Jan, I., & Mutungi, G. (2014). Stool fatty acid soaps, stool consistency and gastrointestinal tolerance in term infants fed infant formulas containing high sn-2 palmitate with or without oligofructose: A double-blind, randomized clinical trial. Nutrition Journal, 13(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1186/1475-2891-13-105
, suggesting enhanced digestive comfort
Quinlan, P. T., Lockton, S., Irwin, J., & Lucas, A. L. (1995). Literature Reviews: Pediatric Gastroenterology: The Relationship Between Stool Hardness and Stool Composition in Breast- and Formula-Fed Infants Quinlan PT, Lockton S, Irwin J, et al. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 1995;20:81-90. Clinical Pediatrics. https://doi.org/10.1177/000992289503400609
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Vivinal® Milk Fat is obtained from fresh, high-quality cream to which no neutralising substances or preservatives have been added. It has an excellent taste and with its natural creaminess, it provides a typical flavour and taste unique to natural dairy-sourced products. Our Vivinal® Milk Fat is made from natural ingredients and produced according to high quality standards. For convenience of customers, VMF30 and VMF65 are complete fat blends that are ready to use in final product recipes.
Where most infant formula manufacturers focus on providing a nutritionally adequate total composition of fatty acids in their fat blend, FrieslandCampina Ingredients goes one step further to ensure a nutritionally advantageous structure as well. Vivinal® Milk Fat naturally contains sn-2 palmitate, which can support fat digestion and absorption in infants
Delplanque, B., Gibson, R., Koletzko, B., Lapillonne, A., & Strandvik, B. (2015). Lipid Quality in Infant Nutrition: Current Knowledge and Future Opportunities. In Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition. https://doi.org/10.1097/MPG.0000000000000818
. We are dedicated to offer high quality ingredients that are guaranteed to be safe and to fulfil the nutritional needs of infants. We offer several Vivinal® Milk Fat solutions to help customers obtain a diverse fatty acid composition and triglyceride structure for the application in infant and young child formulas.
FrieslandCampina Ingredients provides a variety of high-quality nutritional lipids to nourish babies during their growth and development. Our innovations in infant milk and young child formula are backed by over 75 years’ experience in manufacturing and research in the field of early life nutrition. Get in touch for personalised advice on choosing the right nutritional lipids or ready-to-use complete fat blend for your needs.
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