Significance of Milk pH in Newborn Infants

Abstract

SummaryBottle-fed infants do not gain weight as rapidly as breastfed babies during the first week of life. This weight lag can be corrected by the addition of a small amount of alkali (sodium bicarbonate or trometamol) to the feeds. The alkali corrects the acidity of cow's milk which now assumes some of the properties of human breast milk. It has a bacteriostatic effect on specific Escherichia coli in vitro, and in infants it produces a stool with a preponderance of lactobacilli over E. coli organisms. When alkali is removed from the milk there is a decrease in the weight of an infant and the stools contain excessive numbers of E. coli bacteria.A pH-corrected milk appears to be more physiological than unaltered cow's milk and may provide some protection against gastroenteritis in early life. Its bacteriostatic effect on specific E. coli may be of practical significance in feed preparations where terminal sterilization and refrigeration are not available. The study was conducted during the week after birth, and no conclusions are derived for older infants. The long-term effects of trometamol are unknown. No recommendation can be given for the addition of sodium bicarbonate to milks containing a higher content of sodium. Introduction Cow's milk differs from human milk in many respects. It has a high protein and phosphate content and produces a firm stool with a preponderance of Escherichia coli organisms. Breast milk, with its high lactose, low phosphate, and low protein load, produces a stool with a relatively low E. coli count (Bullen and Willis, 1971). In addition, it affords protection against gastroenteritis.

Uso da acidez titulável no controle de qualidade do leite humano ordenhado

“…A acidez titulável mede parte da carga ácida total do leite [22,30]. Segundo HARRISON & PEAT [18], a acidez titulável do leite é o volume de álcali requerido a fim de elevar o pH de sua concentração inicial para o pH=7,45, usando 0,25mL/Litro de NaHCO 3 . Pode ser expressa em mmol/Litro (mM/L), mEq/litro (mEq/L), graus Dornic (°D) ou em graus Soxhlet-Henkel (°S.H.)…”

“…Pode ser expressa em mmol/Litro (mM/L), mEq/litro (mEq/L), graus Dornic (°D) ou em graus Soxhlet-Henkel (°S.H.) [4,18,19,32]. A acidez titulável é mais sensível ao conteúdo total de solutos e pode estar diretamente relacionada ao aumento da densidade calórica [22,30].…”

Prediction of drug concentrations in human skim milk from plasma protein binding and acid‐base characteristics.

“…Mean milk pH calculated from two large studies (Ansell et al, 1977;Harrison & Peat, 1972) (Horwitz, 1980 The third concentration was twice the highest of these concentrations. The M/P ratio for diclofenac is not known and a value of 1 was arbitrarily assigned.…”

Defecation Patterns of 0-6 Months-old Breast-Fed Infants

“…31 On sekiz bebekle yapılan bir çalışmada, sekiz hafta boyunca sadece anne sütü ile beslenen bebeklerin dışkı pH değeri 5-6, anne sütü ile beraber ek besin alanların pH değeri 5-6 ile başlayıp, 6-8 arasına yükseldiği görülmüştür. 32 Ayrıca çalışmada, anne sütü alanların dışkısında düşük pH, yüksek oranda bifidobakteriler, düşük oranda koli basilleri gözlemlenirken, mama ile beslenenlerde yüksek pH, düşük oranda bifidobakteriler ve yüksek oranda koli basilleri gözlemlenmiştir. Benzer şe-kilde, bu çalışmada dışkı pH ortanca değeri, tüm grubun 5,5, sadece anne sütü ile beslenenlerin 5,5, anne sütü ile beraber ek besin alanların 6,0 olduğu belirlenmiştir.…”