title: High-temperature short-time pasteurisation of human breastmilk is efficient in retaining protein and reducing the bacterial count.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Milk banks are advised to use Holder pasteurisation to inactivate the cytomegalovirus, but the process adversely affects the bioactive properties of human breastmilk. This study explored the antibacterial efficacy of an alternative high-temperature short-time (HTST) treatment of human breastmilk and its effect on marker proteins, compared with the Holder method.
  
  
  METHODS
  Breastmilk samples were obtained from 27 mothers with infants in a German neonatal intensive care unit. The samples were either heated to 62°C for five seconds using HTST or processed using Holder pasteurisation, at 63 ± 0.5°C for 30 minutes. Immunoglobulin A, lactoferrin, lysozyme, alkaline phosphatase and bile salt-stimulated lipase concentrations and bacterial colony-forming units/mL were measured before and after heating.
  
  
  RESULTS
  HTST-treated samples retained higher rates of immunoglobulin A (95% versus 83%), alkaline phosphatase (6% versus 0%) and bile salt-stimulated lipase (0.8% versus 0.4%) than Holder pasteurisation samples (all p < 0.01), but not lactoferrin (32% versus 20%, p = 0.18) and lysozyme (72% versus 65%, p = 1). No difference in antibacterial efficacy was noted between the two groups (p = 0.29).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Using the HTST treatment protocol retained some of the bioactive properties of human breastmilk and appeared to have similar antibacterial efficacy to Holder pasteurisation.
authors.affiliation: Division of Neonatology, Center for Pediatrics, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.|Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2347-3866
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Klotz
authors.affiliation: Division of Neonatology, Center for Pediatrics, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.|Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Mirjam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Joellenbeck
authors.affiliation: Institute for Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Karl
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Winkler
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Mirjam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kunze
authors.affiliation: Institute of Virology, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Huzly
authors.affiliation: Division of Neonatology, Center for Pediatrics, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.|Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Roland
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hentschel
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D008894:Milk Proteins / Q000032:analysis; D008895:Milk, Human / Q000737:chemistry / Q000382:microbiology*; D061352:Pasteurization / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D008894:Milk Proteins
keywords: Bacterial colonisation; Holder pasteurisation; Human breastmilk; Infant; Protein