Human milk and infant formulae: Peptide differences and the opportunity to address the functional gap

Bovine-derived formula milk (FM) is a common substitute to human milk (HM), but lacks key functional benefits associated with HM. Accordingly, there have been significant efforts to humanise FM. Recent research has demonstrated that HM-derived peptides convey an array of beneficial bioactivities. Given that peptides serve as important signalling molecules offering high specificity and potency, they represent a prime opportunity to humanise FM. To further understand how HM-derived peptides contribute to infant health, we used peptidomics and bioinformatics to compare the peptide profile of HM to commercially available FM. We found clear and substantial differences between HM and FM in terms of peptide physicochemical properties, protein coverage and abundance. We additionally identified 618 peptides specific to HM that represent an important untapped source to be explored for novel bioactivities. While further study is required, our findings highlight the potential of a peptide-based approach to address the functional gap in FM. [Display omitted] •The peptide component of human milk is under explored compared to formula milk•Marked differences in peptide profiles of human milk and formula milk were noted in Liquid Chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry data•We observed a set of human milk-specific peptides with reported bioactivities with no homologous peptides present formula milk•A larger set of human milk-specific peptides were identified with undetermined bioactivity•Further research is needed to elucidate novel human milk-specific bioactivities