Digestion of milk proteins in infants: influence of processing and implications for intestinal transport and immunoreactivity

Summary

Milk proteins are the only source of protein that infants receive during the first six months of life. Therefore, proper digestion and absorption of milk proteins and a healthy immune response towards these proteins are highly important for infants’ growth and development. The production of infant formula from bovine milk includes multiple processing steps, which can alter the digestion of milk proteins. Hence, this thesis aimed to investigate how different types of processing impact the digestion of milk proteins and the subsequent effects on intestinal transport and immunoreactivity. We showed that processing (i.e. heat treatment and addition of lipids) affects the digestion of milk proteins. Moreover, we found that heat treatment changes the survival of immunoreactive structures during digestion and influences the intestinal transport of (immunoreactive) milk peptides. Our findings demonstrate the importance of studying milk protein processing along with subsequent changes in their digestion, intestinal transport, and immunoreactivity.