Enhancement of stearidonic acid soybean oil with palmitic acid and docosahexaenoic or gamma-linolenic acids for use as human milk fat analogs in infant formula

Abstract

Human milk fat analogs are used in infant formula to mimic the fat found in human breast milk. The purpose of this research was to produce structured lipids by enriching stearidonic acid (SDA) soybean oil with palmitic acid (PA), characterizing the resulting structured lipids (SLs), and then further enriching the SLs with GLA or DHA and characterizing the resulting SLs. Human milk fat analogs were successfully produced by enriching SDA soybean oil with over 60% PA at the sn-2 position of the triacylglycerol and then producing SLs with over 54% sn-2 PA with either over 8% GLA or 10% DHA. The addition of antioxidants improved their oxidative stability. The human milk fat analogs produced in this research could possibly be used in infant formula application.