title: Review of sn-2 palmitate oil implications for infant health.
abstract: Human milk provides the optimal balanced nutrition for the growing infant in the first months after birth. The human mammary gland has evolved with unusual pathways, resulting in a specific positioning of fatty acids at the outer sn-1 and sn-3, and center sn-2 of the triacylglyceride, which is different from the triglycerides in other human tissues and plasma. The development of structured triglycerides enables mimicking the composition as well as structure of human milk fat in infant formulas. Studies conducted two decades ago, together with very recent studies, have provided increasing evidence that this unusual positioning of 16:0 in human milk triglycerides has a significant role for infant health in different directions, such as fat and calcium absorption, bone health, intestinal flora and infant comfort. This review aims to unravel the relevance of human milk triglyceride sn-2 16:0 for intestinal health and inflammatory pathways and for other post-absorption effects.
authors.affiliation: Enzymotec Ltd., Sagi 2000 Industrial Park, Kfar Baruch, Israel. Electronic address: fabiana@ENZYMOTEC.COM.
authors.forename: Fabiana
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bar-Yoseph
authors.forename: Yael
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lifshitz
authors.forename: Tzafra
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Cohen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001846:Bone Development; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism; D004041:Dietary Fats / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007229:Infant Welfare; D007408:Intestinal Absorption; D008895:Milk, Human / Q000502:physiology; D010169:Palmitic Acids / Q000378:metabolism*; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D004041:Dietary Fats; D010169:Palmitic Acids; D014280:Triglycerides; D002118:Calcium
keywords: Human milk; Sn-2 palmitate; Structured triglyceride