Developments in Brief : Mother’s Milk Protein May Aid Bottle Babies

A natural protein found in mother’s milk may help bottle-fed babies have fewer digestive problems, according to a new study by the Agriculture Department.

Lactoferrin, or milk iron, is known to help infants absorb iron from mother’s milk and to protect them against intestinal infection, the department’s Agricultural Research Service reported. “Our studies suggest that adding lactoferrin to infant formula will make it more like human milk,” said Burford L. Nichols, who headed the project at the agency’s Children’s Nutrition Research Center in Houston.

Nichols said two international makers of baby formula have expressed interest in the findings.

The studies also show that the protein apparently speeds growth and maturation of the gastrointestinal tract.

“Infants who don’t get mother’s milk sometimes have more colic, diarrhea and food intolerances,” Nichols said. “Presumably, some of these problems are due to an immature digestive capacity.”