Recognized as the gold standard of infant nutrition and the best food for infants, breast milk offers many benefits in addition to nutrition, such as immune protection, due to its multiple bioactive components. This paper reviews the effect of lactoferrin, oligosaccharides, nucleotide, 1,3-dioleic acid-2-palmitic triglyceride and probiotics as bioactive components in breast milk on infant immune health, and it analyzes optional ingredients for 11 commercial brands of infant formula in order to provide a theoretical basis for the selection of optional components in infant formula.

Breast milk is the most ideal natural food for infants and the gold standard for the development of infant formula (IF). Accurately simulating the nutritional components of breast milk is an important means to improve IF. In order to better simulate breast milk lipids, a new generation of IF was developed based on the reported breast milk data, and then the total fatty acids and sn-2 fatty acids in breast milk and the new generation of IF were comparatively analyzed. The results showed that the new generation of IF and human milk were highly similar in total fatty acids and sn-2 fatty acids (the similarity coefficients were > 85% and > 70%, respectively). In conclusion, the new generation of IF can accurately simulate the total fatty acids and sn-2 fatty acids in human milk.

The rapid growth of infant brains places an exceptionally high demand on the supply of nutrients from the diet, particularly for preterm infants. Sialic acid is an essential component of brain gangliosides and the poly sialic acid chains that modify neural cell adhesion molecules. Sialic acid levels are high in human breast milk, predominately existing as N-acetyl neuraminic acid. In contrast, infant formulas contain a low level of sialic acid consisting of both N-acetyl neuraminic acid and N-glycolylneuraminic acid. N-glycolylneuraminic acid is implicated in some human in?ammatory diseases. Therefore, this article introduces readers to the distribution of sialic acid in human milk, cow’s milk and infant formula milk, the source of pure N-acetylneuraminic acid sialic acid and the effect of sialic acid on infant health, so as to provide a scientific basis for reducing the gap between formula milk and infant nutritional requirements.

Human milk is the most perfect source of nutrition for infants. It contains all the nutrients needed for the growth and development of infants. Phospholipids can promote the intestinal, brain and cognitive development of infants, which is very important for the healthy development of infants. This paper introduces its readers to the phospholipids in human milk, focusing on the differences in the composition and content of phospholipids in human milk in different countries/regions, as well as the differences in the composition of phospholipids and phospholipid fatty acids in human, bovine, caprine and ovine milk. This review hopefully will provide a basis for the development of infant formula, especially the fine simulation of phospholipid composition and phospholipid fatty acid composition in human milk.

Breast milk is the first and only food source for meeting all nutritional needs of infants in the first stages of life and is recognized as the best form of nutrition for infant growth, development and health. In addition to providing nutrition to infants, breast milk influences infants’ taste and food preferences by exposing them to sensory experiences of various odorous compounds. In order to better apply the odor research of breast milk to infant formula milk powder, and to make infant formula milk powder more similar to breast milk, we here summarize the composition of odor compounds in breast milk and infant formula milk powder and the main factors influencing them.

Milk is rich in all nutrients and is one of the most nutritionally complete foods. Milk has many nutritional and functional characteristics. It contains all the nutrients needed to keep newborns and infants alive and to improve the quality of the human diet. But the milks of non-bovine species are always ignored because of low yield and consequently low economic benefits. Therefore, with the aim of making people understand the importance of milks from minor dairy species and sparking interest in researching and applying non-bovine milks, this article introduces readers to the nutritional composition of the milks of cow, yak, horse, donkey, sheep and camel. Next, it presents a comparison of the general composition, fatty acid composition, bioactive substances and functional characteristics of milks from minor dairy animals and cows, leading to the conclusion that milks from minor dairy animals have both nutritional and health benefits and are promising for application.

Early nutrition has an enormous influence on an infant’s physiological function, immune system maturation, and cognitive development. The special nutritional liquid of human milk is recognized as the gold standard for human infant nutrition and the best food. It can meet all the nutritional needs of infants within 6 months of age after birth. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends exclusive breastfeeding for infants for the first 6 months of life. The relevant laws and regulations in China emphasize that breast milk is the most ideal natural food for infants and advocate exclusive breastfeeding for infants for at least 6 months after birth. The composition of human milk and its effect on infant development are comprehensively reviewed in this article, which is expected to provide a scientific basis for clarifying the nutritional needs of infants and establishing nutrition and health standards for infants.

Dairy products are widely consumed across the world due to their pleasant sensory characteristics, health benefits and nutritional properties. With the development of the food industry, it is currently a crucial trend to develop food products with more functions to improve consumer health, such as functional dairy products. This paper reviews the functions of dairy products including improving intestinal and bone health and lowering blood lipids and glucose, as well as the application of hypoglycemic ingredients in dairy products.

The composition and contents of oligosaccharides in two mixed samples of human breast milk were determined and the effect of the human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) 2’-fucosyllactose (2’-FL) on the proliferation of two probiotic strains, Bifidobacterium Bb-12 and Lactobacillus fermentum CECT5716 was evaluated in this study. The results showed that the HMOs contents of the two mixed samples were 10.613 and 5.093 g/L respectively. This significant difference indicated that HMOs contents in breast milk from different mothers are affected by many factors, generally ranging between 5 and 15 g/L. 2’-FL promoted the growth of both priobiotics, indicating that the probiotics could utilize HMOs for growth and proliferation.

Human bone growth peaks in adulthood after going through infancy, childhood and adolescence. Maximization of bone mass increment before adulthood and paying attention to bone health in middle and old age are important measures to prevent osteoporosis. Dairy products are an important source of nutrients for bone health, especially those fortified with bioactive substances beneficial for bone health for different populations. In this paper, the bioactive substances used in dairy products to strengthen bones are summarized, and the relationship between consumption of fortified dairy products and bone health in middle-aged and elderly people is reviewed.

With increasing knowledge about the distribution and beneficial bioactivities of human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs), especially prebiotic activities that modulate the human gut microbiota, HMOs have received growing research attention. However, the application of HMOs is generally difficult. The challenges are the special selection of suitable HMOs for infant formula and the limited amount of HMOs from natural sources. In the literature, there are few studies on the content of special HMOs and their impact on infant health outcomes. In this article, the current status of research on the complex composition, possible sources, functions and safety of HMOs are summarized with focus on the state-of-the-art in these regards. Finally, an outlook on future research directions is given.

The fat composition of human milk is distinct from that of milk from other mammals and vegetable oils. Breast milk is considered the optimal food source for neonates; however it is not always available for the development of infants. Manufacturing infant formulas that simulate the composition and function of breast milk is therefore of great importance to optimize outcomes of formula-fed infants, and infant formulas that simulate the fat composition of human milk have been developed consequently. With the continuous progress in nutritional science, advancements have been made in simulating breast milk at the triglyceride level. This paper reviews recent progress in infant formulas simulating the fat composition of human milk.

It is known that there is a negative correlation between the dietary intake of dairy products and the incidence of metabolic syndrome (MS). One or multiple dairy ingredients together can directly affect some characteristic indexes of MS. In particular, minerals such as calcium and magnesium, whey protein, bioactive peptide and conjugated linoleic acid in dairy products have been proved to be helpful to improve the characteristic indexes of MS. In this paper, the preventive effect of dairy products on MS and the underlying mechanisms are summarized.

Infant formula (IF) containing probiotics was reconstituted at different temperatures (40, 50, 60 and 70 ℃) in order to analyze the effects of reconstitution temperature and methods (direct reconstitution in warm water and sequential reconstitution in warm and cool water) on the survival rate of probiotics. At the same time, microbial change in reconstituted IF were measured during storage at 5 ℃ for up to 24 h. The results showed that as the reconstitution increased, the survival rate of probiotics decreased. At the same reconstitution temperature, the second reconstitution method resulted in a significantly higher survival rate than did the first one. Reconstitution temperatures of 40 and 50 ℃ were beneficial to the survival of probiotics (survival rate > 60%). Storage at 5 ℃ ensured effectively the survival of the probiotics in reconstituted IF while controlling the growth of other microorganisms. In conclusion, IF containing probiotics is recommended to be reconstituted at 40–50 ℃ so as to ensure the survival of probiotics in the reconstituted IF.