The Lipid and Glyceride Profiles of Infant Formula Differ by Manufacturer, Region and Date Sold

Abstract

We tested the hypothesis that the lipid composition of infant formula is consistent between manufacturers, countries and target demographic. We developed techniques to profile the lipid and glyceride fraction of milk and formula in a high throughput fashion. Formula from principal brands in the UK (2017–2019; bovine-, caprine-, soya-based), the Netherlands (2018; bovine-based) and South Africa (2018; bovine-based) were profiled along with fresh British animal and soya milk and skimmed milk powder. We found that the lipid and glyceride composition of infant formula differed by region, manufacturer and date of manufacture. The formulations within some brands, aimed at different target age ranges, differed considerably where others were similar across the range. Soya lecithin and milk lipids had characteristic phospholipid profiles. Particular sources of fat, such as coconut oil, were also easy to distinguish. Docosahexaenoic acid is typically found in triglycerides rather than phospholipids in formula. The variety by region, manufacturer, date of manufacture and sub-type for target demographics lead to an array of lipid profiles in formula. This makes it impossible to predict its molecular profile. Without detailed profile of the formula fed to infants, it is difficult to characterise the relationship between infant nutrition and their growth and development.

Revealing grand-paternal programming of lipid metabolism using a novel computational tool

“…A combination of Direct Infusion Mass Spectrometry (DI-MS [27][28][29] ) and phosphorus nuclear magnetic resonance ( 31 P NMR 30,31 ), known as dual spectroscopy 29 , was used to identify and verify the abundance of lipid classes between the two ionisation modes respectively ( Fig. S1, NMR data for each compartment shown in Supplementary Information).…”

“…Samples with a high concentration of triglycerides (TGs; e.g. adipose tissue) were also treated to concentrate the phospholipid fraction so it too could be profiled 28,29,44 . A second portion of the organic phase from the extraction (100 µL) of was transferred to a shallow plate (96 well, glass-coated) before being dried (N2 (g)), washed (hexane, 3 × 100 µL/well) and re-dissolved (DMT, 30 µL).…”

“…It was found that a small change in the abundance of lyso-PC was just measurable in this time, suggesting that sample preparation and running (<72h) was sound. One large scale petrol-wash 28 was done on an adipose sample (F1A, LP-HC). One large scale petrol-wash 28 was done on an adipose sample (F1A, LP-HC).…”

“…One large scale petrol-wash 28 was done on an adipose sample (F1A, LP-HC). One large scale petrol-wash 28 was done on an adipose sample (F1A, LP-HC). These spectra were used to check for sample degradation in handling (e.g.…”

Lipid extraction from dried blood spots and dried milk spots for high throughput lipidomics

“…Early work on DMSs has also been reported 19 . These studies have been made possible by considerable progress in laboratory infrastructure and methods for the high throughput lipidomics, including Direct Infusion Mass Spectrometry (DI-MS) 16,20,21 . The increasing demand for this sample type in high throughput studies, and the desire for high quality data, led us to answer unresolved questions about the analytical issues associated with using either DBSs or DMSs.…”