TY - JOUR A2 - Spigno, Giorgia AU - Almeida, Cristine Couto AU - Mendonça Pereira, Bianca Figueiredo AU - Leandro, Katia Christina AU - Costa, Marion Pereira AU - Spisso, Bernardete Ferraz AU - Conte-Junior, Carlos Adam PY - 2021 DA - 2021/05/15 TI - Bioactive Compounds in Infant Formula and Their Effects on Infant Nutrition and Health: A Systematic Literature Review SP - 8850080 VL - 2021 AB - Infant formulas are an alternative to replace or supplement human milk when breastfeeding is not possible. The knowledge of human milk’s bioactive compounds and their beneficial effects has attracted the interest of researchers in the field of infant nutrition, as well as researchers of technology and food sciences that seek to improve the nutritional characteristics of infant formulas. Several scientific studies evaluate the optimization of infant formula composition. The bioactive compound inclusion has been used to upgrade the quality and nutrition of infant formulas. In this context, the purpose of this systematic literature review is to assess the scientific evidence of bioactive compounds present in infant formulas ( α-lactalbumin, lactoferrin, taurine, milk fat globule membrane, folates, polyamines, long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, prebiotics, and probiotics) and their effects on infant nutrition and health. Through previously determined criteria, studies published in the last fifteen years from five different databases were included to identify the advances in the optimization of infant formula composition. Over the last few years, there has been optimization of the infant formula composition, not only to increase the similarities in their content of macro and micronutrients but also to include novel bioactive ingredients with potential health benefits for infants. Although the infant food industry has advanced in the last years, there is no consensus on whether novel bioactive ingredients added to infant formulas have the same functional effects as the compounds found in human milk. Thus, further studies about the impact of bioactive compounds in infant nutrition are fundamental to infant health. SN - 2356-7015 UR - https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/8850080 DO - 10.1155/2021/8850080 JF - International Journal of Food Science PB - Hindawi KW - ER -