Protein digestibility of human milk, cow milk and goat milk in the in vitro static infant digestion simulation

Although the importance of human milk is well known, the search for alternatives continues today. Among these alternatives, goat and cow milk, which are industrial species, are in the first place. The literature has primarily focused on the digestive behaviour of human milk and infant formulas. In this study, the digestive behaviours of human, goat, and cow milks were examined at different stages of an infant digestion simulation. Throughout gastrointestinal digestion, a decrease in particle size was observed in human milk, whereas an increase in particle size was detected in cow and goat milk. The pH values of human milk, cow milk, and goat milk were determined to be 6.66, 6.79, and 6.71, respectively. The dry matter content was reported as 11.75%, 13.62%, and 11.0%. In addition to structural changes, significant increases in antioxidant capacity and ACE inhibitory activity (%) were observed during digestion, particularly in cow and goat milk. These biofunctional developments will shed light on the health benefits of cow and goat milk, as well as their potential use in the development of infant formulas. Characterisation of cow and goat milk digestive behaviour in situations of human milk deficiency will contribute to the development of new infant formulas and alternative products.