DETECTION OF UNDEGRADED BETA-LACTOGLOBULINS AND EVALUATION OF THE MOLECULAR-WEIGHT OF PEPTIDES IN HYDROLYSATE COWS MILK FORMULAS

Hydrolysate formulae have been developed with the purpose of reducing the allergenicity of cow's milk proteins, thus providing a suitable fo rmula for feeding babies with cow's milk allergy. More recently, hydro lysate formulae have also been used with babies at high risk of atopy in order to prevent cow's milk allergy. The aim of the present study w as to investigate the presence of intact cow's milk proteins and the m olecular weights of peptides in several batches of two extensively hyd rolyzed formulae and two partially hydrolyzed formulae. The results sh ow the presence of a significant amount of intact beta-lactoglobulin i n one partially hydrolyzed formula and of peptides with high molecular weights (>16,900 D) in the two partially hydrolyzed formulae. In conc lusion, the present study confirms that partially hydrolyzed formulae contain a large proportion of peptides with high molecular weights; in addition, undegraded beta-lactoglobulin was detected in a partially h ydrolyzed whey formula. These data strongly indicate that partially hy drolyzed formulae may be not only allergenic in an already sensitized individual, but also immunogenic in a predisposed baby.