Gangliosides in human milk and infant formula: A review on analytical techniques and contents

ABSTRACT

Gangliosides (GGs) are important bioactive compounds that offer beneficial anti-infective, anti-inflammatory, and neuronal development effects. The present work reviews the techniques used to determine the GG content in human milk and infant formula. In the case of conventional techniques (thin-layer chromatography (TLC) and spectroscopy), extraction and purification steps are more laborious than for the current techniques (liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS)). The new methodologies allow the identification of the ceramide and oligosaccharide forming the GGs, which is of interest considering their structural differences among human milk and infant formula. This information could be used to incorporate GGs into infant formula in such a way as to more closely resemble human milk regarding total contents and profile.

KEYWORDS:

• Contents
• determination
• gangliosides
• human milk
• infant formula