Metabolic Impact of Infant Formulas in Young Infants. An Outlook From the Urine Metabolome

Abstract

Although breast milk is the ideal food source for newborns during the first six months of life, a high percentage of children receive infant formulas. There is evidence that specific diet habits may influence individual metabolic profile. Therefore, in newborns, such profile can be influenced by the use of infantile formulas given the composition differences that display compared to human milk. Up to now there are no reports in the literature that address this issue. Thus, this work aims to compare the metabolic profile of full-term newborns that were feed with either breast milk (n=32) or infantile formulas (n=21). Metabolic profile was established based on urine analysis through gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (H-NMR). Results evidenced a more gluconeogenic profile in breast fed infants. In addition, infant formula fed infants presented urinary excretion of metabolites derived from specific compounds present in this type of diet that were not observed in breast fed infants. Finally, it was observed that in infant formula fed infants there was excretion of basal levels of metabolites of clinical relevance. This results show the importance of understanding the metabolic impact of diet in newborn population in normal and pathological contexts.

Urine Metabolomic Profile of Breast- versus Formula-Fed Neonates Using a Synbiotic-Enriched Formula

“…Regarding the assignment of methyl-succinate as a signature marker for the synbiotic formula group ( Figure 2 ), the results of the present study are in line with the findings of other research groups [ 64 ]. The increase in this metabolite in FF newborns is driven by the catabolic pathways of amino acids, such as isoleucine, which is found in high-protein infant formulae.…”

“…Our findings indicate creatinine as a discriminant compound, as it was found in higher levels in the FF group than in the BF group after 2 months of life ( Figure 2 ), which may be closely related to the rapid degradation rate of proteins in protein-rich formulae [ 62 , 66 ]. The decreased creatinine levels in both FF and BF newborns in the 3rd month compared to the 3rd day of the study ( Figure 3 and Figure 4 ) are in agreement with other published scientific data [ 64 , 67 ]. As indicated by the plasma metabolic signature of BF and FF infants, creatinine showed a decreasing tendency over the course of the infant’s lifespan [ 67 ].…”

“…Moreover, recent studies of fecal cultures of healthy 2-month-old neonates revealed the interrelation of succinate compounds with the establishment of commensal Enterobacteriaceae communities in the FF infant gut [ 65 ]. Apart from the feeding mode, the concentrations of methyl-succinate has been shown to significantly depend on the age of the infant [ 64 ].…”