Challenges in simulating the biochemical environment of the infant stomach to assess the gastric digestion of infant formulae

Abstract

In infants, gastric digestion is a crucial step for the digestion and absorption of nutrients from infant formula, human milk, or any other milk substitutes. Critical understanding of the dynamics and biochemical conditions of the infant stomach is essential to improving the accuracy and reliability of in vitro models and guide the development of infant formulae that match the functional performance of human milk. This review discusses the current knowledge about infant gastric digestion gained from in vitro, in vivo, and human studies and learning from the digestion behavior of infant formulae. In particular, the current challenges when mimicking the gastric digestion processes in healthy infants are highlighted.