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Nutrients
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Human Milk, Fortifiers, and Infant Formula Innovations: Advancing Nutrition and...
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Human Milk, Fortifiers, and Infant Formula Innovations: Advancing Nutrition and Health in Preterm and Term Infants

A special issue of Nutrients (ISSN 2072-6643). This special issue belongs to the section "Pediatric Nutrition".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 May 2026 | Viewed by 1580

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Yvan Vandenplas

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
KidZ Health Castle, UZ Brussel, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Laarbeeklaan 101, 1090 Brussels, Belgium
Interests: milk; milk proteins; breastfeeding; infant
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Feeding during early life is of major importance and has short- and long-term health consequences. Breastfeeding has been reported to be the best method to feed infants. Therefore, every effort should be made to breastfeed infants for as long as possible. However, this may not be possible for every infant. Therefore, efforts to optimize a second choice of feeding, formula feeding, are also needed.

In this Special Issue, we aim to highlight recent advances focused on optimizing infant feeding. I invite our readers to share the results of their research in this area.

Prof. Dr. Yvan Vandenplas
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Nutrients is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • breast feeding
  • formula feeding
  • term infant
  • preterm infant
  • nutrition
  • microbiota
  • cow’s milk allergy
  • lipid
  • protein
  • macronutrient
  • micronutrient

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

21 pages, 1630 KB  
Article
An Infant Formula with Partially Hydrolyzed Whey and Intact Protein Demonstrates Adequate Growth and Safety: A 6-Month Randomized, Triple-Blind, Controlled Trial
by Qianqian Shen, Hua Jiang, Shuai Mao, Sha Luo, Yanjie Hao, Wenxin Liang, Tingchao He, Lotte Neergaard Jacobsen, Nan Sheng, Jing Yin, Xiaoying Feng, Xiaojiang Jia, Yvan Vandenplas and Yumei Zhang
Nutrients 2026, 18(5), 770; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu18050770 - 26 Feb 2026
Viewed by 1220
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Evidence suggests that partially hydrolyzed whey protein promotes appropriate infant growth; however, research on its long-term effects, especially in Asia, remains limited. This study set out to evaluate the effects of an infant formula containing partially hydrolyzed whey and intact protein on [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Evidence suggests that partially hydrolyzed whey protein promotes appropriate infant growth; however, research on its long-term effects, especially in Asia, remains limited. This study set out to evaluate the effects of an infant formula containing partially hydrolyzed whey and intact protein on infant growth and development. Methods: This multicenter, triple-blind, randomized non-inferiority trial enrolled healthy full-term infants (≤14 days old). Participants were randomized (1:1) to receive pHF (n = 78) or SF (n = 70) until 6 months of age, with propensity score-matched exclusively breastfed (BF) infants (n = 70) serving as the reference. The primary outcome was daily weight gain. Linear mixed models assessed the association between feeding type and WHO z-scores over time. Results: Over 6 months, the adjusted mean (SE) daily weight gain (g) was 26.4 (1.27) g/day in BF, 26.0 (1.19) g/day in pHF, and 25.3 (1.27) g/day in the SF group. The adjusted mean difference between pHF and SF was 0.64 g/day (95%CI: −1.55, 2.83), confirming non-inferiority. Growth parameters were comparable between pHF and SF, with WHO z-scores remaining within ±1 SD of reference standards. Compared with pHF, SF was associated with a slower increase in length-for-age z score (LAZ). While there was no difference between the pHF and BF groups, WAZ increased significantly less in SF vs. BF [−0.34 (95%CI: −0.58, −0.10), p = 0.003]. Gastrointestinal disorders occurred more frequently in the SF group than in the BF group, with no significant difference between the pHF and BF groups. Conclusions: An infant formula containing partially hydrolyzed whey and intact protein supported adequate growth and was well tolerated during the first six months of life, with growth trajectories comparable to those of breastfed infants. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Human Milk, Fortifiers, and Infant Formula Innovations: Advancing Nutrition and Health in Preterm and Term Infants)
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