Dietary Milk Fat Globule Membrane Restores Decreased Intestinal Mucosal Barrier Development and Alterations of Intestinal Flora in Infant‐Formula‐Fed Rat Pups

Scope Milk fat globule membrane (MFGM), which contains abundant polar lipids and glycoproteins, can narrow the gap in growth and development between breast‐fed and infant‐formula‐fed babies. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of MFGM supplementation in infant formula on intestinal epithelium maturation, tight junctions, and gut colonization in rat pups. Methods and results Sprague Dawley rat pups consume one of the five diets from postnatal day 8, including rat breastfeeding (BF), infant formula (IF), and infant formula containing MFGM at 260 mg kg−1 body weight (BW), 520 mg kg−1 BW, or 1040 mg kg−1 BW. Results show that MFGM supplementation in infant formula can facilitate intestinal mucosal barrier maturation via promoting intestinal proliferation and differentiation, and increasing tight junction proteins. In addition, compared with that of the IF pups, the intestinal flora composition of MFGM‐supplemented pups is more similar to that of BF pups. Conclusion MFGM supplementation in infant formula can restore the intestinal development in infant‐formula‐fed pups, which suggests that the supplementation of MFGM in infant formula can better mimic breast milk. Milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) is a bioactive compound derived from milk. This study reports that MFGM supplementation closed the gap in intestinal development between infant‐formula‐fed pups and breast‐fed pups via promoting intestinal proliferation and differentiation, increasing tight junction proteins and modulating intestinal flora.