Folic acid is a very important water-soluble vitamin in human milk, which is essential for embryonic development and growth. The folic acid in human milk often exists in the form of polyglutamic acid salts (≥ 4 glutamyl residues), such as 5-methyltetrahydrofolate. Folic acid deficiency may lead to birth defects such as neural tube defect and congenital heart disease. This article introduces the folic acid content in breast milk from different countries/regions, the factors influencing it and its health effects in order to provide a reference for the development of infant formula milk powder.

Human milk contains a large amount of vitamin C, which can meet the needs of newborns’ early growth and development. Vitamin C has been proven to have multiple functions such as preventing scurvy, treating hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy and preventing placental abruption. This article provides an overview of the content of vitamin C in human milk in different countries/regions, the factors influencing it and its health effects on infants, hoping to provide a reference for the development of infant formula milk powder.

The use of Monascus has a history of over 1 000 years in China and it is commonly used for making red yeast rice and fermented bean curd. Its metabolites demonstrate broad application potential in the fields of food, health products and medicine. This review summarizes recent advances in research on the metabolites of Monascus in terms of their antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, lipid-lowering, blood glucose-lowering, and blood pressure-lowering effects. Studies indicate that Monascus metabolites contain various functional components, such as Monascus pigments, monacolin K and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), which exhibit their biological activities through multiple mechanisms. Some Monascus pigments have antibacterial properties, monacolin K is an ideal lipid-lowering agent, and GABA shows a significant blood pressure-lowering effect. Additionally, Monascus metabolites demonstrate good anti-inflammatory activity and blood glucose-lowering effects, and show significant anti-inflammatory effects in inflammation models. In conclusion, Monascus metabolites have broad application prospects, but further research is needed to elucidate the mechanism of their health benefits. This review will promote their development and application in the food, health and medical fields.

In recent decades, due to the change of people’s living environment and lifestyle, the incidence rate of cow’s milk allergy (CMA) has risen sharply, especially in infants and young children, which has become a major public health problem worldwide. Some studies have shown that the interaction between the intestinal microbiota and the host immune system in early life can affect the development of food allergy, and the imbalance of intestinal microecology in early life will lead to an increase in the probability of immune-mediated diseases in later life. Therefore, the colonization of beneficial microbiota in the gut at the early stage of life is likely to become a key target for the prevention and treatment of CMA. Beginning with an overview of the current status of research on the pathogenesis and epidemiology of milk allergy, this paper focuses on the relationship between the intestinal microflora and CMA and on the positive role microorganisms play in the prevention and treatment of CMA, aiming to provide potential strategies for precision prevention and improvement of CMA.

Human milk contains various types of vitamin A (VA), such as retinol, β-carotene, β- cryptoxanthin, α-carotene, lycopene and lutein. The content of VA is different among colostrum, transitional milk and mature milk, but it generally decreases with the duration of lactation. For instance, the content of retinol, the most abundant type of VA in human milk, is 478–1 920, 440–1 270 and 178–825 mg/L in colostrum, transition milk and mature milk, respectively. The VA content in human milk is not only affected by lactation time, but also related to regions, the diet of lactating mothers, the fat content of human milk, etc. This paper summarizes the types, contents, influential factors and health effects (visual health, immune health, growth and development, etc.) of VA in breast milk from different countries and regions, in order to provide a basis for the development of infant formula milk powder.

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.

β-casein is the major casein component in human milk. Adjusting the content of β-casein in infant formula can make the protein and amino acid composition closer to that of human milk. In this paper the amino acid composition and spatial structure of β-casein are described, and the differences in some characteristics between human and cow milk β-casein are compared. Moreover, the functional characteristics of β-casein and its application in infant formula are also discussed. This review is expected to provide useful information for the development of new infant formula products.

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.

The optimization of medium components and culture conditions for improved spore production of Monascus purpureus M-4 in submerge culture was performed using a combination of one-factor-at-a-time (OFAT) method and response surface methodology (RSM). The OFAT results showed that potato extract powder and glucose were the optimal nitrogen and carbon source, respectively and that their optimal concentrations were 0.4 and 2.0 g/100 mL, respectively. The optimal culture conditions that provided the maximum number of spores were as follows: initial medium pH 6.72 (natural pH), medium volume in a 500-mL triangular flask 120 mL, concentration of added CaCO3 2.0 g/100 mL, number of passages 2, and culture time 72 h. Potato extract powder and glucose concentration as well as culture time were identified as main variables that influence spore production and their optimal levels were determined to be respectively 0.38 g/100 mL, 2.2 g/100 mL and 6.5 d using RSM. The highest spore number of (7.47 ± 0.15) × 106 CFU/mL was experimentally obtained under the optimized conditions, which was close to the predicted value (7.53 ± 0.31) × 106 CFU/mL. The average error between the predicted and experimental values was 0.79%. A 31.13-fold increase in spore number was achieved by the optimization. Besides, the spore-producing ability per unit volume of strain M-4 was greatly improved.

Alpha-lactalbumin (α-LA) is a major protein component of breast milk. Therefore, humanization of α-LA from mammalian milk should be an important part of the study aimed to develop infant formula simulating the major protein components in breast milk. The structure of α-LA is described in terms of amino acid composition and stereostructure in this article. Moreover, the functional characteristics of α-LA and its application in infant formula are also discussed, which is expected to provide useful information for researchers in this field.

The histamine content in commercial fermented dairy products was determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with precolumn derivatization. Four derivatization conditions, dosage of derivatizing agent (dansyl chloride, Dns-Cl), pH value, time and temperature were optimized using one-factor-at-a-time method and response surface methodology (RSM). The results showed that the optimized derivatization conditions were easy to manipulate and allowed for efficient, accurate and precise determination of histamine. The method met the requirements for accurate determination of histamine dairy products.

An ultrasonic-assisted extraction procedure was developed for the determination of the peroxide value (POV) in infant formulas. The extraction parameters such as extractant type, amount of sample, number of extraction cycles and ultrasonic conditions were optimized. The proposed method gave high extraction yield (> 95%) and allowed accurate determination of POV. Under accelerated oxidation conditions, the shelf-life of infant formulas could be accurately reflected by POV values determined this method.

The major free middle-chain fatty acids (hexanoic acid, octanoic acid, decanoic acid) in raw milk and dairy products are regarded as important compounds that affect liquid milk quality and safety due to their strong flavor characteristics. This article provides an analytical method using headspace solid phase microextraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-MS) with an internal standard for the quantitative determination of free middle-chain fatty acids in liquid milk. The method was verified as an approach with high accuracy, simple operation and high extraction efficiency.

Changes in moisture content, water activity (aw ), color and 2-thiobarbituric acid (TBA) value of milk powder packaged with different packaging materials i.e., aluminum foil bags (polyethylene terephthalate/ polyamide/aluminum foil/ polyethylene (PET/PA/AL/PE)), cup-shaped capsule 1 (polypropylene/ethylenevinyl alcohol copolymer/polypropylene (PP/ EVOH/PP) and cup-shaped capsule 2 (PP) were examined during 12 weeks of accelerated storage in under constant temperature (37 or 42 ℃) and humidity (75%) conditions. The results showed that moisture content and aw in milk powder packaged with aluminum foil bags remained relatively stable during accelerated storage under the same conditions and color difference (ΔE) and TBA value increased with storage time. For milk powder packaged with cup-shaped capsules, all parameters (moisture content, aw, L*, a*, b*, ΔE and TBA values) continuously increased, and cup-shaped capsule 1 resulted in smaller increased in these parameters than did cup-shaped capsule 2. In conclusion, aluminum foil packaging was the best method for preserving milk powder, followed by cup-shaped capsule 1, and cup-shaped capsule 2 was the least effective method.

Human milk oligosaccharides, beneficial to infant growth and development, are oligosaccharides naturally occurring in human milk. This paper describes the composition and functions of human milk oligosaccharides as well as their role in infant growth and analyzes the reason for adding oligosaccharides in infant formula, aiming to provide useful guidelines for the research and development of infant formula foods.

The unified dietary reference intakes (DRIs) have been introduced in China. Nevertheless, there are wide regional variations in dietary intake and nutritional status of lactating mothers across the country, which are associated with geographic environment, life style, socio-economic and culture factors, education level, etc even within the same region. The nutritional status of both lactating mothers and their infants is influenced by maternal dietary intake. Hence, understanding of dietary intake and nutritional status of lactating mothers from different regions of China is meaningful for formulating appropriate guidelines.