There is emerging interest in the impact of food structure on lipid digestion and its relationship to human nutrition. The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of heteroaggregation of lipid droplets on their potential biological fate using a simulated gastrointestinal tract (GIT). At neutral pH, a highly viscous "mixed emulsion" was formed by mixing anionic β-lactogobulin (β-Lg) coated lipid droplets with cationic lactoferrin (LF) coated lipid droplets due to electrostatic attraction. We compared the behavior of β-Lg-emulsions, LF-emulsions and mixed emulsions under in vitro oral, gastric, and small intestinal conditions. In the oral stage, the β-Lg emulsion and mixed emulsion were stable but the LF emulsion aggregated, which was attributed to electrostatic interactions with mucin. In the gastric stage, extensive droplet aggregation occurred in all three emulsions, which was attributed to proteolysis of adsorbed proteins by pepsin, as well as the influence of high acidity and ionic strength on electrostatic interactions. Despite the differences in the initial compositions and microstructures of the three emulsions, we did not observe an appreciable difference in the rate or extent of their lipid digestion in the small intestine. Qualitatively similar results were obtained using a simple GIT model (small intestine only) and the full GIT model (oral, gastric, and small intestine). The knowledge gained from this study will be useful for the creation of functional foods to improve health and well-being.
Lactoferrin plays an important role in infant gastrointestinal health and immunity responses. This study measured the change of the lactoferrin level in breast milk over the lactation time in Chinese women, and explored potential influencing factors in terms of various maternal factors. 248 lactating women were recruited from eight different regions across China, covering 330 days of lactation. The nutrition information of each woman as well as the gender information of infants were collected. Breast milk lactoferrin level was determined by ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC). A twenty-four-hour maternal food recall was used to collect the dietary information. The lactoferrin level decreased progressively from day 1 to day 30 (p < 0.01), and remained constant from day 31 to day 330. Among the eight regions, the breast milk samples from Gansu contained the highest mean lactoferrin level (1.40 g L-1) while the breast milk samples from Zhejiang contained the least mean lactoferrin level, 0.94 g L-1 (p < 0.01). Dietary pattern and maternal BMI showed no correlation with the breast milk lactoferrin level. Maternal ethnicity and age were associated with the breast milk lactoferrin level. The breast milk samples collected from Tibetan ethnicity had 1.45 g L-1 lactoferrin while those collected from Dai ethnicity had 1.02 g L-1 lactoferrin. Women in the elder age group (30 years old and above) had 0.95 g L-1 breast milk lactoferrin, which was significantly lower than the lactoferrin level (1.3 g L-1) in the younger age group (20-25 years old) (p < 0.01). In conclusion, this study showed that lactoferrin levels in the breast milk of Chinese lactating women were influenced by lactation time. Besides, ethnicity and maternal age were two impact factors on the breast milk lactoferrin level.
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