A Concept Formula With Large, Milk Phospholipid-Coated Lipid Droplets Enriched With Milk Fat Decreases Palmitic Acid and Calcium Levels in Stools of Healthy, Term Infants

This study evaluates the impact of an infant formula comprising large, dairy milk phospholipid-coated lipid droplets containing a vegetable-dairy lipid mixture (Concept-Mix) with 6% of fatty acid (FA) as sn-2 palmitic acid (PA) on infant stool characteristics. Stool samples from infants fed Concept-Mix or standard formula with 97% vegetable lipids with 2% of FA as sn-2 PA (Control-Veg) are evaluated at baseline, 13 and 52 weeks of age. Overall, mean stool fat content decreases from 8 to 10 w% at baseline to <2 w% at 52 weeks. At 13 weeks, PA and Calcium (Ca) content, as well as FA sum are lower in Concept-Mix than Control-Veg stools, with values closer to breastfed infants. The increased dietary sn-2 PA content is regarded as instrumental for this fecal PA reduction. Indeed, in their proof of principle study in rats fed formula-based diets using Control-Veg, Concept-Mix, or Concept formula with 95% vegetable lipids (Concept-Veg) comprising 2%, 6%, and 2% of FA as sn-2 PA, they demonstrate that PA absorption is the highest for Concept-Mix. Hence, a concept formula with large, milk phospholipid coated lipid droplets enriched with milk fat beneficially affects PA and Ca absorption in infants, likely due to its increased sn-2 PA content. Practical applications: The results of these studies show the merit with regard to sn-2 palmitic acid (PA) and Calci absorption of increasing the sn-2 PA content in the fat blend of infant formula by including dairy milk fat.