Trial demonstrates beta-palmitate benefits for infant bone strength
A randomised, double-blind, controlled clinical trial on bone strength in term infants fed a high be…A randomised, double-blind, controlled clinical trial on bone strength in term infants fed a high beta-palmitate formula was recently published in the journal Calcified Tissue International. The results of the study indicate significantly higher bone-strength parameters compared to a standard vegetable oil control.
The trial was conducted by Ita Litmanovitz, MD., et al, at Meir Medical Center, Kfar Saba, Israel, and sponsored by Enzymotec. The trial studied the effect of 12 weeks feeding of infant formula with InFat (Advanced Lipids, a joint venture between AAK and Enzymotec(, high beta-palmitate fat blend, on bone strength parameters. Bone strength results were measured by speed of sound, using quantitative ultrasound (QUS).
The clinical trial included 83 term infants, 58 formula-fed and 25 breast-fed. The formula fed infants were assigned to a study group receiving formula with InFat, or to a control group receiving formula using standard vegetable oil mix. Bone-strength parameters, measured by QUS (Sunlight Premier Software, Omnisense BeamMed, Ltd.), plus anthropometric parameters, were measured at randomization, then at 6 and 12 weeks postnatal age.
“We are very pleased with the study results,” said Yael Lifshitz, Ph.D., director of R&D, Enzymotec Infant Nutrition. “This clearly indicates that InFat benefits bone strength parameters. Bone speed of sound of the newborns fed the formula with InFat was significantly higher than that of newborns fed the control formula, and comparable to that of breast-fed newborns.”
“This trial marks an important milestone in our clinical development program, positioning InFat as a premium fat blend for infant formulas,” said Tzafra Cohen, Ph.D., CEO of Advanced Lipids. “It shows Advanced Lipids’ commitment to our customers and the infant nutrition market to continued investment in research. We also anticipate finding additional benefits to the use of InFat.”
Enzymotec says that InFat is a clinically-proven fat blend (beta-palmitate structured lipids) for infant formula with a high percentage of palmitic acid in its sn-2 position. This mimics the unique composition of human milk fat, which is highly conserved in all women’s breast milk, and thereby enables optimised uptake of calcium and energy as well as easy digestion.
