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Self‐Assembly Structure Formation during the Digestion of Human Breast Milk
Author(s) -
Salentinig Stefan,
Phan Stephanie,
Hawley Adrian,
Boyd Ben J.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
angewandte chemie international edition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.831
H-Index - 550
eISSN - 1521-3773
pISSN - 1433-7851
DOI - 10.1002/anie.201408320
Subject(s) - digestion (alchemy) , breast milk , lipid digestion , chemistry , food science , transmission electron microscopy , bioavailability , lipid droplet , gastrointestinal tract , biophysics , chromatography , biochemistry , biology , materials science , nanotechnology , bioinformatics , enzyme , lipase
An infant′s complete diet, human breast milk, is the basis for its survival and development. It contains water‐soluble and poorly water‐soluble bioactive components, metabolic messages, and energy, all of which are made bioavailable during the digestion process in the infant′s gastrointestinal tract. Reported is the first discovery of highly geometrically organized structures formed during the digestion of human breast milk under simulated in vivo conditions using small‐angle X‐ray scattering and cryogenic transmission electron microscopy. Time of digestion, pH, and bile salt concentration were found to have symbiotic effects gradually tuning the oil‐based environment inside the breast milk globules to more water‐like structures with high internal surface area. The structure formation is necessarily linked to its function as carriers for poorly water‐soluble molecules in the digestive tract of the infant.