Plasma Concentration and Urinary Excretion of Nɛ-(Carboxymethyl)lysine in Breast Milk- and Formula-fed Infants

Industrial processing of infant formulas (IFs) induces the formation of Maillard products, namely Nɛ‐(carboxymethyl)lysine (CML). CML content is expected to be several times higher in IFs than in fresh human breast milk. To elucidate whether CML is absorbed from IFs into the bloodstream, CML concentration in the plasma and urine were analyzed in 6‐month‐old infants (34 breast fed and 25 fed exclusively with IFs) and in 56 samples of human breast milk and 16 commercial IFs. We found that IFs contain higher amounts of CML compared to mother's milk (median: 70‐fold; range: 28‐ to 389‐fold), and CML content was higher in hydrolyzed IFs than in nonhydrolyzed IFs (P