CN115191604A

CN115191604A - Nutritional composition, food containing nutritional composition and application of nutritional composition

Info

Publication number: CN115191604A
Application number: CN202210835058.2A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 陈勇; 王炬; 潘健存; 张维; 蒋士龙; 陈博; 梁爱梅; 冷友斌
Original assignee: Heilongjiang Feihe Dairy Co Ltd
Current assignee: Heilongjiang Feihe Dairy Co Ltd
Priority date: 2021-07-27
Filing date: 2022-07-15
Publication date: 2022-10-18
Anticipated expiration: 2042-07-15
Also published as: CN115191604B

Abstract

The present invention relates to a nutritional composition and to a food product comprising said nutritional composition. The nutritional composition includes a phospholipid, milk fat globule membrane protein, and d-alpha-tocopherol or a d-alpha-tocopherol derivative. The nutritional composition may further comprise docosahexaenoic acid and/or arachidonic acid. The nutritional composition can promote brain development, maintain brain health, and especially enhance cognitive ability and/or enhance memory and/or learning ability.

Description

Nutritional composition, food containing nutritional composition and application of nutritional composition

Technical Field

The present invention relates generally to a nutritional composition that promotes brain development, maintains brain health, and in particular enhances cognitive ability and/or memory and/or learning, and to food products comprising the nutritional composition. More specifically, the present invention relates to a nutritional composition comprising phospholipids, milk fat globule membrane proteins, d-alpha-tocopherol or d-alpha-tocopherol derivatives and to food products, in particular infant formulas, comprising the nutritional composition.

Background

The brain is the central system of human beings, and the health of the brain influences the cognitive ability, memory and learning ability of a person. "cognition" refers to the ability to process information, put things into memory, reason about, and solve problems. Studies have found that mental acuity tests performed at age 70 are very successful if cognitive performance is good at age 8, and that people who score high on standard cognitive tests at age 8 may remain at this level later in life. Cognitive functions such as speed of brain processing problems, working memory and long-term memory tend to decline with age after age 20 years, and these aging phenomena are often accompanied by a reduction in the brain structural regions such as the caudate nucleus, cerebellar hemisphere, lateral prefrontal cortex and hippocampus. It can be seen that whether the brain is completely developed in the early years and whether the adult brain is healthy is very important for the cognitive ability of the human.

The breast milk can provide all nutrient components required by growth and development for the infants, and the milk of the well-nourished lactating mothers can meet the nutrient requirements of the infants of 0-6 months old. Breast milk is a natural food most suitable for infants, is the best choice for infant absorption, gastrointestinal function and osmotic pressure, and is also the key to promote the short-term and long-term health assurance of infants. The breast milk not only contains various nutrients which are needed by the growth and development of the infants and have proper proportion and easy digestion and absorption, but also contains various active functional substances for promoting the intestinal health and improving the immunity, and can help the infants to resist diseases. The infant period is the most important period in the life of a human and is also the period with the fastest growth and development, and sufficient energy can be necessary for the growth and development of the infant.

At present, the mothers of infants can not breast feed the infants due to various reasons such as work, keeping stature or illness in the lactation period. For infants who are poor and non-breast, there is a need for infant formulas as a substitute for breast milk. In order to make the indexes of the infant fed with the infant formula approach those of the breast-fed infant, the infant formula meeting the nutritional requirements of the infant needs to be designed by taking breast milk as the 'gold standard'.

It has been found that the fat of breast milk contains lipid components such as phospholipids, which account for approximately 0.4% to 1% of the total fat. Phospholipids have an important role in the growth and development of infants, especially in the development of the brain, nerves and vision of infants, and are indispensable components for maintaining the structural stability of milk fat globules. The phospholipid has important biological functions on the growth and development of the infant, is beneficial to the emulsification, digestion, absorption, operation and utilization of fatty acid, and simultaneously has a synergistic effect on the biological utilization of long-chain polyunsaturated fat such as DHA, ARA and the like. Phospholipids are mainly composed of Sphingomyelin (SM), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), phosphatidylcholine (PC), phosphatidylinositol (PI), phosphatidylserine (PS).

It has been found that about 25% of the total dry matter of the infant brain is phospholipids, with phosphatidylcholine accounting for about 50% of the total phospholipids, phosphatidylethanolamine accounting for about 30% of the total phospholipids, and the other three phospholipid components, such as phosphatidylserine, phosphatidylinositol and sphingomyelin, accounting for about 20% of the phospholipids (svenneholm L1968). The phospholipid is the most important structural lipid of brain and nervous tissues, is an important substance for forming a biological membrane, has important influence on the brain development and cognition of the infant, and can improve the cognitive ability in the growth and development of the infant.

About 60% of the phospholipids in raw milk are bound to the fat globules, the remainder being on the milk fat globule membrane free in skim milk.

Milk Fat Globule Membrane (MFGM) is a unique structure in milk and contains components such as phospholipids, proteins, and cholesterol. There are more than 190 different proteins in MFGM. These proteins include: immune proteins, lactoferrin, and other proteins. Existing studies have shown that bioactive components in MFGM play important roles in development, immune function and digestion of the central nervous system. The protein component and the lipid component in the MFGM play a positive role in the growth and development of the infant. The proteins in MFGM mainly comprise 3 membrane proteins, namely Xanthine Oxidoreductase (XOR), butyrophilin (Btn) and milk fat globule surface growth factor 8 (MFG-E8). In addition to proteins, MFGM contains phospholipids, which are biologically active substances and have a nutritional function, which are beneficial for the development and cognitive abilities of the brain, nervous system and digestive system of infants, partly produced by secretion from mammary epithelial cells, partly produced by cells carried in breast milk, and some derived from maternal serum. However, due to various factors, infants do not have sufficient breast milk to meet their own needs for normal growth and development, which requires a supply of infant formula.

The d-alpha-tocopherol is also called RRR-alpha-tocopherol, RRR. The activity of natural RRR-alpha-tocopherol is 1.36-2 times of that of synthetic alpha-tocopherol, and the natural RRR-alpha-tocopherol is highly enriched (> 70%) in key regions of the infant brain frontal cortex, hippocampus, occipital cortex and the like which are responsible for memory and learning, presents an accumulation trend along with the increasing of age, and has very important significance for the memory and intelligence development of the infant. The research shows that the total alpha-tocopherol level in Chinese milk is high, wherein the alpha-tocopherol concentration in the colostrum is as high as 9.20mg/L. RRR-alpha-tocopherol, which is highly enriched in the brain, can protect long-chain unsaturated fatty acids such as DHA and the like through an antioxidant effect. The d-alpha-tocopherol in the infant formula milk powder is mainly derived from d-alpha-tocopherol acetate.

Breast milk fat consists primarily of long chain unsaturated fatty acids. The research finds that the docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and the arachidonic acid (ARA) in the long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid (LCPUFA) are related to the development of the brain and the neural network. The DHA concentration of the frontal and parietal cortex of breast-fed infants is higher than that of the corticosteroids fed with infant formula (no DHA and ARA). It is believed that this observation is due to breast milk being a rich source of DHA. Researchers therefore speculate that DHA, ARA added to infant formula would improve neurological function. In randomized clinical trials with infant formula, evidence has shown that the specific nutritional component docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in human milk may have an advantage in cognitive development, improving cognitive performance. DHA in the diet of preterm or term infants is associated with a higher mental development score (Carlson et al, 1994). More researchers found that the infant formula milk powder added with DHA + ARA can improve the mental development index of infants (Birch E E et al, 2000).

The existing infant formula milk powder in the market mostly takes cow milk as a main raw material, but the fat and protein composition in the cow milk is obviously different from that of the cow milk, and for the fat, the fat in the cow milk provides 40-55% of the dietary energy required by the growth and development of the infant, so that the infant formula milk powder is a main source of the energy required by the growth of the infant and exists in the cow milk in the form of fat globules. Although the human milk phospholipid accounts for about 0.5% of fat, the human milk phospholipid plays a very important role in the growth and development of infants, and 60% -70% of the total milk fat phospholipid in the human milk is derived from MFGM. Phospholipid group can carry key brain nutrition such as DHA and the like, break through blood brain barrier, make the nutrient more easily absorbed, and the phospholipid can synergistically act to promote brain development, improve memory capacity, improve visual acuity, action and language score of infants and improve recognizability. In order to make the infant formula closer to breast milk, the infant formula needs to be added with components such as phospholipid, milk fat globule membrane, d-alpha-tocopherol acetate, DHA, ARA and the like on the basis of cow milk. In order to make infant formula milk powder closer to breast milk, scientists continuously research the nutrition of breast milk at present, and by adding the types of nutrients contained in the breast milk, the types of the nutrients such as protein, fat, carbohydrate, mineral matters, vitamins and the like are made to be as close to the breast milk as possible.

However, in the field of infant formula powder in China, a lot of blanks exist in the aspects of phospholipid and lactofat globule membrane protein mother emulsification. In view of the above, there is a need to provide a nutritional composition for promoting brain growth and development, in particular for enhancing cognitive ability and/or enhancing memory and/or learning ability.

Disclosure of Invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide a nutritional composition that promotes brain development, maintains brain health, and in particular enhances cognitive ability and/or enhances memory and/or learning.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a food product, in particular an infant formula, comprising the nutritional composition.

The present inventors have found that the effect of enhancing cognitive ability and/or enhancing memory and/or learning ability can be achieved using a nutritional composition comprising phospholipids, milk fat globule membrane proteins, and d-alpha-tocopherol or a d-alpha-tocopherol derivative.

In particular, the present invention is realized by:

1. a nutritional composition comprising phospholipids, milk fat globule membrane proteins, and d-alpha-tocopherol or a d-alpha-tocopherol derivative.

2. The nutritional composition of item 1, wherein the source of phospholipids is a milk source and/or a plant source; preferably, the milk source is raw cow milk, and/or raw sheep milk, and/or whole milk powder, and/or desalted whey powder, and/or whey protein powder, and/or concentrated whey protein powder, and/or milk fat globule membrane protein powder; preferably, the plant source is soybean oil, and/or coconut oil, and/or linseed oil, and/or walnut oil, and/or soya lecithin, and/or sunflower seed oil.

3. The nutritional composition according to any of the items 1-2, wherein the milk fat globule membrane protein is derived from raw milk and/or raw sheep milk and/or whole milk powder and/or desalted whey powder and/or whey protein powder and/or concentrated whey protein powder and/or milk fat globule membrane protein powder.

4. The nutritional composition according to any one of items 1-3, wherein the d-alpha-tocopherol derivative is d-alpha-tocopherol acetate.

5. The nutritional composition according to any one of items 1-4, wherein the content of phospholipids is 2.0-12.0 wt. -%, preferably 3.0-11.0 wt. -%, preferably 5.0-10.5 wt. -%, preferably 7.0-10.0 wt. -%, preferably 8.0-9.5 wt. -%, relative to the total weight of the nutritional composition, or relative to the total weight of phospholipids, milk fat globule membrane proteins, d-alpha-tocopherol or d-alpha-tocopherol derivatives, optionally docosahexaenoic acid, and optionally arachidonic acid in the nutritional composition.

6. The nutritional composition according to any one of items 1-5, wherein the milk fat globule membrane protein is present in an amount of 26.0-92.0 wt. -%, preferably 50.0-91.5 wt. -%, preferably 70.0-91.5 wt. -%, preferably 75.0-91.0 wt. -%, preferably 80.0-91.0 wt. -%, relative to the total weight of the nutritional composition, or relative to the total weight of phospholipids, milk fat globule membrane protein, d-alpha-tocopherol or d-alpha-tocopherol derivatives, optionally docosahexaenoic acid, and optionally arachidonic acid in the nutritional composition.

7. The nutritional composition according to any one of items 1-6, wherein the d-alpha-tocopherol or d-alpha-tocopherol derivative is present in an amount of 0.10 to 1.50 wt. -%, preferably 0.15 to 1.00 wt. -%, preferably 0.20 to 0.80 wt. -%, preferably 0.25 to 0.50 wt. -%, relative to the total weight of the nutritional composition, or relative to the total weight of phospholipids, milk fat globule membrane proteins, d-alpha-tocopherol or d-alpha-tocopherol derivatives, optionally docosahexaenoic acid, and optionally arachidonic acid in the nutritional composition.

8. The nutritional composition of any of items 1-7, wherein the nutritional composition consists of phospholipids, milk fat globule membrane proteins, and d-alpha-tocopherol or d-alpha-tocopherol derivatives.

9. The nutritional composition according to any one of items 1-7, wherein the nutritional composition comprises or consists of, relative to the total weight of the nutritional composition, or relative to the total weight of phospholipids, milk fat globule membrane protein, d-alpha-tocopherol or d-alpha-tocopherol derivatives, optionally docosahexaenoic acid, and optionally arachidonic acid present in the nutritional composition:

-at least 6.5 wt.%, preferably at least 7.0 wt.%, preferably at least 7.5 wt.%, preferably at least 8.0 wt.%, preferably at least 8.5 wt.% and at most 12.0 wt.%, preferably at most 11.0 wt.%, preferably at most 10.5 wt.%, preferably at most 10.0 wt.%, preferably at most 9.5 wt.% of phospholipids;

-at least 86.5 wt.%, preferably at least 87.0 wt.%, preferably at least 87.5 wt.%, preferably at least 88.0 wt.% and at most 92.0 wt.%, preferably at most 91.5 wt.%, preferably at most 91.0 wt.% of milk fat globule membrane protein; and

-at least 0.10 wt.%, preferably at least 0.15 wt.%, preferably at least 0.20 wt.%, preferably at least 0.25 wt.%, preferably at least 0.30 wt.% and at most 1.50 wt.%, preferably at most 1.20 wt.%, preferably at most 1.00 wt.%, preferably at most 0.80 wt.%, preferably at most 0.60 wt.%, preferably at most 0.50 wt.% of d-alpha-tocopherol or d-alpha-tocopherol derivative.

10. The nutritional composition of any one of items 1-7, wherein the nutritional composition further comprises docosahexaenoic acid; preferably, the docosahexaenoic acid is present in an amount of 1.0-45.0 wt.%, preferably 1.5-20.0 wt.%, preferably 2.0-15.0 wt.%, preferably 2.5-10.0 wt.%, preferably 3.0-8.0 wt.%, preferably 3.0-6.0 wt.%, relative to the total weight of the nutritional composition, or relative to the total weight of phospholipids, milk fat globule membrane protein, d-alpha-tocopherol or d-alpha-tocopherol derivative, docosahexaenoic acid, and optionally arachidonic acid in the nutritional composition.

11. The nutritional composition of any one of items 1-7 and 10, wherein the nutritional composition further comprises arachidonic acid; preferably, the arachidonic acid is present in an amount of 1.0 wt. -% to 45.0 wt. -%, preferably 1.5 to 20.0 wt. -%, preferably 2.0 to 15.0 wt. -%, preferably 2.5 to 10.0 wt. -%, preferably 3.0 to 8.0 wt. -%, preferably 3.0 to 6.0 wt. -%, relative to the total weight of the nutritional composition or relative to the total weight of phospholipids, milk fat globule membrane proteins, d-alpha-tocopherol or d-alpha-tocopherol derivatives, optionally docosahexaenoic acid, and arachidonic acid in the nutritional composition.

12. The nutritional composition according to any one of items 1-7 and 10-11, wherein when docosahexaenoic acid and arachidonic acid are present, the mass ratio of docosahexaenoic acid to arachidonic acid is 5.0-0.2, preferably 4.0-0.5, preferably 3.0-0.8, preferably 2.0-1.0.

13. The nutritional composition of any of items 1-7 and 10-12, wherein the nutritional composition consists of phospholipids, milk fat globule membrane protein, d-alpha-tocopherol or a d-alpha-tocopherol derivative, docosahexaenoic acid, and arachidonic acid.

14. The nutritional composition according to any one of items 1-7 and 10-12, wherein the nutritional composition comprises or consists of, relative to the total weight of the nutritional composition, or relative to the total weight of phospholipids, milk fat globule membrane protein, d-alpha-tocopherol or d-alpha-tocopherol derivatives, docosahexaenoic acid, and arachidonic acid in the nutritional composition:

-at least 2.0 wt.%, preferably at least 3.0 wt.%, preferably at least 4.0 wt.%, preferably at least 5.0 wt.%, preferably at least 6.0 wt.%, preferably at least 7.0 wt.%, preferably at least 7.5 wt.%, preferably at least 8.0 wt.% and at most 12.0 wt.%, preferably at most 11.0 wt.%, preferably at most 10.5 wt.%, preferably at most 10.0 wt.%, preferably at most 9.5 wt.%, preferably at most 9.0 wt.% of phospholipids;

-at least 26.0 wt.%, preferably at least 50.0 wt.%, preferably at least 70.0 wt.%, preferably at least 75.0 wt.%, preferably at least 80.0 wt.% and at most 92.0 wt.%, preferably at most 91.0 wt.%, preferably at most 90.0 wt.%, preferably at most 88.0 wt.%, preferably at most 85.5 wt.% of milk fat globule membrane protein;

-at least 0.10 wt.%, preferably at least 0.15 wt.%, preferably at least 0.20 wt.%, preferably at least 0.25 wt.% and at most 1.50 wt.%, preferably at most 1.00 wt.%, preferably at most 0.80 wt.%, preferably at most 0.70 wt.%, preferably at most 0.60 wt.%, preferably at most 0.50 wt.%, of d-alpha-tocopherol or a d-alpha-tocopherol derivative;

at least 1.0 wt.%, preferably at least 1.5 wt.%, preferably at least 2.0 wt.%, preferably at least 2.5 wt.%, preferably at least 3.0 wt.% and at most 45.0 wt.%, preferably at most 20.0 wt.%, preferably at most 15.0 wt.%, preferably at most 10.0 wt.%, preferably at most 8.0 wt.%, preferably at most 6.0 wt.% of docosahexaenoic acid; and

at least 1.0% by weight, preferably at least 1.5% by weight, preferably at least 2.0% by weight, preferably at least 2.5% by weight, preferably at least 3.0% by weight and at most 45.0% by weight, preferably at most 20.0% by weight, preferably at most 15.0% by weight, preferably at most 10.0% by weight, preferably at most 8.0% by weight, preferably at most 6.0% by weight of arachidonic acid.

15. A food product comprising the nutritional composition of any one of items 1-14.

16. The food product of item 15, wherein the food product is selected from the group consisting of infant formula, nutritional supplement, recombined milk powder, special medical formula, health food, and functional food,

17. the food product according to any of the items 15-16, wherein the nutritional composition is added in an amount of at least 0.1 wt. -%, preferably 0.2-95.0 wt. -%, preferably 0.5-80.0 wt. -%, preferably 1.0-75.0 wt. -%, preferably 1.5-50.0 wt. -%, preferably 2.0-20.0 wt. -%, preferably 2.5-15.0 wt. -%, relative to the total weight of the food product.

18. The food product of any of items 15-17, which is in powder or liquid form.

Drawings

Figure 1 shows the effect of different nutritional compositions on the fourth day latency in rats.

Figure 2 shows the effect of different nutritional compositions on acetylcholinesterase levels in rat brain.

Figure 3 shows the effect of different nutritional compositions on the superoxide dismutase content in rat brain.

Figure 4 shows the effect of different nutritional compositions on nitric oxide synthase levels in rat brain.

Detailed Description

Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art, but in case of conflict, the definitions in this specification shall control.

As used herein, the following terms have the following meanings.

The term "infant" refers to a person of 0 to 6 months of age.

The term "older infant" refers to a person 6 to 12 months of age.

The term "young child" refers to a person of 12 to 36 months of age.

The term "infant" broadly refers to a person 0-36 months of age.

The term "infant formula" as used herein encompasses infant formulas, follow-up infant formulas and toddler formulas. Typically, infant formulas are used as breast milk substitutes from the birth of the infant, larger infant formulas are used as breast milk substitutes from 6-12 months after the birth of the infant, and infant formulas are used as breast milk substitutes from 12-36 months after the birth of the infant.

The term "infant formula" refers to a liquid or powder product made by adding appropriate amounts of vitamins, minerals and/or other ingredients to milk and milk protein products or soy and soy protein products as the main raw materials and producing and processing only by physical methods. Is suitable for normal infants, and the energy and nutrient components of the infant formula can meet the normal nutritional requirements of the infants of 0-6 months.

The term "follow-up infant formula" refers to a liquid or powder product made by using milk and milk protein products or soy and soy protein products as main raw materials, adding appropriate amount of vitamins, minerals and/or other ingredients, and only using physical method to produce and process. Is suitable for older infants, and has energy and nutritional components capable of meeting partial nutritional requirements of older infants of 6-12 months old.

The term "infant formula" refers to a liquid or powder product prepared by using milk and milk protein products or soybean and soybean protein products as main raw materials, adding appropriate amount of vitamins, minerals and/or other components, and producing and processing by a physical method. Is suitable for children, and has energy and nutritional components capable of meeting partial nutritional requirements of normal children of 12-36 months.

"mother's milk" is understood to mean mother's milk or colostrum.

The term "fully breastfed infant or young child" has the usual meaning and refers to an infant whose majority of nutrients and/or energy are derived from human breast milk.

The term "infant/follow-on/older infant/toddler fed primarily with infant formula" has the usual meaning and refers to an infant or toddler whose source of nutrients and/or energy originates primarily from physically produced processed infant formula, older infant milk or growing-up milk. By "primarily" is meant at least 50%, such as at least 75%, of those nutrients and/or energies.

Furthermore, in the context of the present invention, the term "comprising" or "comprises" does not exclude other possible elements. The compositions of the present invention (including the various embodiments described herein) may comprise, consist of, or consist essentially of the following elements: essential elements and necessary limitations of the invention described herein, as well as any other or optional ingredients, components or limitations described herein or otherwise required.

The subject of the invention is suitable for normal humans, and may be infants and/or older infants, and/or young children, and/or young adults, and/or middle aged adults, and/or elderly. More preferred are formula fed human infants.

All percentages are by weight unless otherwise indicated.

Unless otherwise indicated, when referring to the content of each ingredient in a nutritional composition, the content of the ingredient is in terms of the mass ratio of the respective active in the nutritional composition relative to the total weight of all actives referred to.

The invention will now be described in more detail. It should be noted that the various aspects, features, embodiments, examples, and advantages thereof described herein may be compatible and/or may be combined together.

The present invention relates to a nutritional composition for promoting brain development and maintaining brain health, in particular for enhancing cognitive ability and/or enhancing memory and/or learning ability, and to food products containing the nutritional composition.

The present invention will be specifically described below.

Nutritional composition

In one aspect, the present invention provides a nutritional composition comprising a phospholipid, milk fat globule membrane protein, and d-alpha-tocopherol or a d-alpha-tocopherol derivative.

In one embodiment, the nutritional composition further comprises docosahexaenoic acid and/or arachidonic acid.

In one embodiment, the nutritional composition consists of phospholipids, milk fat globule membrane proteins, and d-alpha-tocopherol or d-alpha-tocopherol derivatives.

In one embodiment, the nutritional composition consists of phospholipids, milk fat globule membrane protein, d-alpha-tocopherol or a d-alpha-tocopherol derivative, docosahexaenoic acid, and arachidonic acid.

The present inventors have found that when a nutritional composition comprises phospholipids, milk fat globule membrane proteins, and d-alpha-tocopherol or d-alpha-tocopherol derivatives, such as d-alpha-tocopherol acetate, together, the nutritional composition may promote brain development, maintain brain health, in particular enhance cognition and/or enhance memory and/or learning.

Phospholipids

In the context of the present invention, the term "phospholipid" is a generic term for the components of phospholipids, which may consist of Sphingomyelin (SM), and/or Phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), and/or Phosphatidylcholine (PC), and/or Phosphatidylinositol (PI), and/or Phosphatidylserine (PS).

The phospholipids may be derived from milk and/or plant. The phospholipids may be provided in liquid or powdered form.

The milk-derived phospholipid may be provided by one or more of raw milk, and/or raw sheep milk, and/or whole milk powder, and/or desalted whey powder, and/or whey protein powder, and/or concentrated whey protein powder, and/or milk fat globule membrane protein powder.

The plant-derived phospholipids may be provided by one or more of soybean oil, and/or coconut oil, and/or linseed oil, and/or walnut oil, and/or soya lecithin, and/or sunflower seed oil, or by one or more of the food materials made therefrom.

In one embodiment, the phospholipid content may be 2.0-12.0 wt.%, preferably 3.0-11.0 wt.%, preferably 5.0-10.5 wt.%, preferably 7.0-10.0 wt.%, preferably 8.0-9.5 wt.%, relative to the total weight of the nutritional composition, or alternatively relative to the total weight of phospholipids, milk fat globule membrane protein, d-alpha-tocopherol or d-alpha-tocopherol derivative, optionally docosahexaenoic acid, and optionally arachidonic acid in the nutritional composition; for example, 2.0 wt%, 2.5 wt%, 3.0 wt%, 3.5 wt%, 4.0 wt%, 4.5 wt%, 5.0 wt%, 5.5 wt%, 6.0 wt%, 6.5 wt%, 7.0 wt%, 7.5 wt%, 8.0 wt%, 8.5 wt%, 9.0 wt%, 9.5 wt%, 10.0 wt%, 10.5 wt%, 11.0 wt%, 11.5 wt%, 12.0 wt%, or a range defined by any two thereof and any values and subranges encompassed within the range.

When the content of phospholipids in the nutritional composition of the present invention is within the above range, the nutritional composition may more significantly function to enhance cognitive ability and/or enhance memory and/or learning ability.

In one embodiment, the phospholipid is available from jagi, germany.

Milk fat globule membrane protein

"milk fat globule membrane protein (MFGM)" refers to a component of milk, particularly bovine milk or human milk. Briefly, the term includes membranes and membrane-bound substances around the fat globules in mammalian milk, as well as other components of MFGM, which are referred to as "MFGM components".

Herein, for convenience of language, the terms "milk fat globule membrane protein", "MFGM" and "MFGM component" are used interchangeably.

The milk fat globule membrane protein can be derived from any substance containing milk fat globule membrane protein such as raw milk and/or raw goat milk and/or whole milk powder and/or desalted whey powder and/or whey protein powder and/or concentrated whey protein powder and/or milk fat globule membrane protein powder.

In an embodiment, the milk fat globule membrane protein content may be 26.0-92.0 wt.%, preferably 50.0-91.5 wt.%, preferably 70.0-91.5 wt.%, preferably 75.0-91.0 wt.%, preferably 80.0-91.0 wt.%, relative to the total weight of the nutritional composition, or alternatively relative to the total weight of phospholipids, milk fat globule membrane protein, d-alpha-tocopherol or d-alpha-tocopherol derivative, optionally docosahexaenoic acid, and optionally arachidonic acid in the nutritional composition; for example, 26.0 wt.%, 26.5 wt.%, 27.0 wt.%, 27.5 wt.%, 28.0 wt.%, 28.5 wt.%, 29.0 wt.%, 29.5 wt.%, 30.0 wt.%, 30.5 wt.%, 31.0 wt.%, 31.5 wt.%, 32.0 wt.%, 32.5 wt.%, 33.0 wt.%, 33.5 wt.%, 34.0 wt.%, 34.5 wt.%, 35.0 wt.%, 35.5 wt.%, 36.0 wt.%, 36.5 wt.%, 37.0 wt.%, 37.5 wt.%, 38.0 wt.%, 38.5 wt.%, 39.0 wt.%, 39.5 wt.%, 40.0 wt.%, 40.5 wt.%, 41.0 wt.%, 41.5 wt.%, 42.0 wt.%, 42.5 wt.%, 43.0 wt.%, 43.5 wt.%, 44.0 wt.%, 44.5 wt.%, 45.0 wt.%, 45.5 wt.%, 46.0 wt.%, 46.5 wt.%, 47.0 wt.%, 47.5 wt.%, 48.0 wt.%, 48.5 wt.%, 49.0 wt.%, 49.50 wt.%, 49.0 wt.%, 49 wt.%, 49.50 wt.%. 51.5 wt.%, 52.0 wt.%, 52.5 wt.%, 53.0 wt.%, 53.5 wt.%, 54.0 wt.%, 54.5 wt.%, 55.0 wt.%, 55.5 wt.%, 56.0 wt.%, 56.5 wt.%, 57.0 wt.%, 57.5 wt.%, 58.0 wt.%, 58.5 wt.%, 59.0 wt.%, 59.5 wt.%, 60.0 wt.%, 60.5 wt.%, 61.0 wt.%, 61.5 wt.%, 62.0 wt.%, 62.5 wt.%, 63.0 wt.%, 63.5 wt.%, 64.0 wt.%, 64.5 wt.%, 65.0 wt.%, 65.5 wt.%, 66.0 wt.%, 66.5 wt.%, 67.0 wt.%, 67.5 wt.%, 68.0 wt.%, 68.5 wt.%, 69.0 wt.%, 69.5 wt.%, 70.0 wt.%, 70.5 wt.%, 71.0 wt.%, 71.5 wt.%, 72.0 wt.%, 72.5 wt.%, 72.0 wt.%, 73.73 wt.%, 76.5 wt.%, 76.0 wt.%, 76.5 wt.%, 75 wt.%, 75.5 wt.%, 75, 77.0, 77.5, 78.0, 78.5, 79.0, 79.5, 80.0, 80.5, 81.0, 81.5, 82.0, 82.5, 83.0, 83.5, 84.0, 84.5, 85.0, 85.5, 86.0, 86.5, 87.0, 87.5, 88.0, 88.5, 89.0, 89.5, 90.0, 90.5, 91.0, 91.5, 92.0, or any combination thereof and including any values and subranges therein.

When the content of milk fat globule membrane proteins in the nutritional composition of the invention is within the above range, the nutritional composition may more significantly act to enhance cognitive ability and/or enhance memory and/or learning ability.

In one embodiment, milk fat globule membrane proteins are available from ARLA, denmark.

D-alpha-tocopherol or d-alpha-tocopherol derivatives

d-alpha-tocopherol is an isomer of vitamin E, which is the most biologically active vitamin E. D-alpha-tocopherol as used herein refers to naturally occurring vitamin E. For the convenience of language herein, the terms "d-alpha-tocopherol", "RRR-alpha-tocopherol" and "naturally occurring vitamin E", "RRR" are used interchangeably.

The term "d-alpha-tocopherol derivative" as used herein refers to a substance derived from d-alpha-tocopherol and capable of providing d-alpha-tocopherol.

In one embodiment, the d-alpha-tocopherol derivative is d-alpha-tocopherol acetate.

In one embodiment, the d-alpha-tocopherol or d-alpha-tocopherol derivative, such as d-alpha-tocopherol acetate, may be present in an amount of 0.10 to 1.50 wt.%, preferably 0.15 to 1.00 wt.%, preferably 0.20 to 0.80 wt.%, preferably 0.25 to 0.50 wt.%, relative to the total weight of the nutritional composition, or alternatively relative to the total weight of phospholipids, milk fat globule membrane protein, d-alpha-tocopherol or d-alpha-tocopherol derivative, optionally docosahexaenoic acid, and optionally arachidonic acid in the nutritional composition; <xnotran> ,0.10 %, 0.11 %, 0.12 %, 0.13 %, 0.14 %, 0.15 %, 0.16 %, 0.17 %, 0.18 %, 0.19 %, 0.20 %, 0.21 %, 0.22 %, 0.23 %, 0.24 %, 0.25 %, 0.26 %, 0.27 %, 0.28 %, 0.29 %, 0.30 %, 0.31 %, 0.32 %, 0.33 %, 0.34 %, 0.35 %, 0.36 %, 0.37 %, 0.38 %, 0.39 %, 0.40 %, 0.41 %, 0.42 %, 0.43 %, 0.44 %, 0.45 %, 0.46 %, 0.47 %, 0.48 %, 0.49 %, 0.50 %, 0.51 %, 0.52 %, 0.53 %, 0.54 %, 0.55 %, 0.56 %, 0.57 %, 0.58 %, 0.59 %, 0.60 %, 0.61 %, 0.62 %, 0.63 %, 0.64 %, 0.65 %, 0.66 %, 0.67 %, 0.68 %, 0.69 %, 0.70 %, 0.71 %, 0.72 %, 0.73 %, 0.74 %, 0.75 %, 0.76 %, 0.77 %, 0.78 %, 0.79 %, 0.80 %, 0.81 %, 0.82 %, 0.83 %, 0.84 %, 0.85 %, 0.86 %, 0.87 %, 0.88 %, 0.89 %, 0.90 %, 0.91 %, 0.92 %, 0.93 %, 0.94 %, 0.95 %, 0.96 %, 0.97 %, 0.98 %, 0.99 %, 1.00 %, 1.01 %, 1.02 %, 1.03 %, 1.04 %, 1.05 %, 1.06 %, 1.07 %, 1.08 %, 1.09 %, 1.10 %, 1.11 %, </xnotran> 1.12 wt%, 1.13 wt%, 1.14 wt%, 1.15 wt%, 1.16 wt%, 1.17 wt%, 1.18 wt%, 1.19 wt%, 1.20 wt%, 1.21 wt%, 1.22 wt%, 1.23 wt%, 1.24 wt%, 1.25 wt%, 1.26 wt%, 1.27 wt%, 1.28 wt%, 1.29 wt%, 1.30 wt%, 1.31 wt%, 1.32 wt%, 1.33 wt%, 1.34 wt%, 1.35 wt%, 1.36 wt%, 1.37 wt%, 1.38 wt%, 1.39 wt%, 1.40 wt%, 1.41 wt%, 1.42 wt%, 1.43 wt%, 1.44 wt%, 1.45 wt%, 1.46 wt%, 1.47 wt%, 1.48 wt%, 1.49 wt%, 1.50 wt%, or a range defined by any two thereof and any values or ranges encompassed within this range.

When the content of d-alpha-tocopherol or a d-alpha-tocopherol derivative such as d-alpha-tocopherol acetate in the nutritional composition is within the above range, the nutritional composition may more significantly function to enhance cognitive ability and/or enhance memory and/or learning ability.

Docosahexaenoic acid

Docosahexaenoic acid, cis-4,7,10,13,16,19-docosahexaenoic acid, also commonly referred to in the art as DHA for short, is a polyunsaturated fatty acid essential to the human body. It is a straight chain fatty acid containing 22 carbon atoms and 6 carbon-carbon double bonds, and has a molecular formula of C ₂₂ H ₃₂ O ₂ 。

Herein, for the convenience of language, the terms "docosahexaenoic acid", "DHA" are used interchangeably.

In one embodiment, the nutritional composition of the present invention may optionally further comprise docosahexaenoic acid. When present, the content of docosahexaenoic acid may be in the range of 1.0-45.0 wt. -%, preferably 1.5-20.0 wt. -%, preferably 2.0-15.0 wt. -%, preferably 2.5-10.0 wt. -%, preferably 3.0-8.0 wt. -%, preferably 3.06.0 wt. -%, relative to the total weight of the nutritional composition, or alternatively relative to the total weight of phospholipids, milk fat globule membrane proteins, d-alpha-tocopherol or d-alpha-tocopherol derivatives, docosahexaenoic acid, and optionally arachidonic acid in the nutritional composition; <xnotran> ,1.0 %, 1.5 %, 2.0 %, 2.5 %, 3.0 %, 3.5 %, 4.0 %, 4.5 %, 5.0 %, 5.5 %, 6.0 %, 6.5 %, 7.0 %, 7.5 %, 8.0 %, 8.5 %, 9.0 %, 9.5 %, 10.0 %, 10.5 %, 11.0 %, 11.5 %, 12.0 %, 12.5 %, 13.0 %, 13.5 %, 14.0 %, 14.5 %, 15.0 %, 15.5 %, 16.0 %, 16.5 %, 17.0 %, 17.5 %, 18.0 %, 18.5 %, 19.0 %, 19.5 %, 20.0 %, 20.5 %, 21.0 %, 21.5 %, 22.0 %, 22.5 %, 23.0 %, 23.5 %, 24.0 %, 24.5 %, 25.0 %, 25.5 %, 26.0 %, 26.5 %, 27.0 %, 27.5 %, 28.0 %, 28.5 %, 29.0 %, 29.5 %, 30.0 %, 30.5 %, 31.0 %, 31.5 %, 32.0 %, 32.5 %, 33.0 %, 33.5 %, 34.0 %, 34.5 %, 35.0 %, 35.5 %, 36.0 %, 36.5 %, 37.0 %, 37.5 %, 38.0 %, 38.5 %, 39.0 %, 39.5 %, 40.0 %, 40.5 %, 41.0 %, 41.5 %, 42.0 %, 42.5 %, 43.0 %, 43.5 %, 44.0 %, 44.5 %, 45.0 %, . </xnotran>

When the content of arachidonic acid in the nutritional composition of the present invention is within the above range, the nutritional composition may more remarkably play a role in enhancing cognitive ability and/or enhancing memory and/or learning ability.

Arachidonic acid

Arachidonic acid refers to all-cis-5,8,11,14-eicosatetraenoic acid, also commonly referred to in the art as ARA. Which is a higher unsaturated fatty acid containing 20 carbon atoms and 4 carbon-carbon double bonds and having a molecular formula of CH ₃ (CH ₂ ) ₄ (CH＝CH-CH ₂ ) ₄ (CH ₂ ) ₂ COOH。

Herein, for convenience of language, the terms "arachidonic acid", "ARA" are used interchangeably.

In one embodiment, the nutritional composition of the present invention may also optionally include arachidonic acid. When present, the content of arachidonic acid may preferably be in the range of 1.0-45.0 wt. -%, preferably 1.5-20.0 wt. -%, preferably 2.0-15.0 wt. -%, preferably 2.5-10.0 wt. -%, preferably 3.0-8.0 wt. -%, preferably 3.0-6.0 wt. -%, relative to the total weight of the nutritional composition, or alternatively relative to the total weight of phospholipids, milk fat globule membrane protein, d- α -tocopherol or d- α -tocopherol derivatives, optionally docosahexaenoic acid, and arachidonic acid in the nutritional composition; <xnotran> ,1.0 %, 1.5 %, 2.0 %, 2.5 %, 3.0 %, 3.5 %, 4.0 %, 4.5 %, 5.0 %, 5.5 %, 6.0 %, 6.5 %, 7.0 %, 7.5 %, 8.0 %, 8.5 %, 9.0 %, 9.5 %, 10.0 %, 10.5 %, 11.0 %, 11.5 %, 12.0 %, 12.5 %, 13.0 %, 13.5 %, 14.0 %, 14.5 %, 15.0 %, 15.5 %, 16.0 %, 16.5 %, 17.0 %, 17.5 %, 18.0 %, 18.5 %, 19.0 %, 19.5 %, 20.0 %, 20.5 %, 21.0 %, 21.5 %, 22.0 %, 22.5 %, 23.0 %, 23.5 %, 24.0 %, 24.5 %, 25.0 %, 25.5 %, 26.0 %, 26.5 %, 27.0 %, 27.5 %, 28.0 %, 28.5 %, 29.0 %, 29.5 %, 30.0 %, 30.5 %, 31.0 %, 31.5 %, 32.0 %, 32.5 %, 33.0 %, 33.5 %, 34.0 %, 34.5 %, 35.0 %, 35.5 %, 36.0 %, 36.5 %, 37.0 %, 37.5 %, 38.0 %, 38.5 %, 39.0 %, 39.5 %, 40.0 %, 40.5 %, 41.0 %, 41.5 %, 42.0 %, 42.5 %, 43.0 %, 43.5 %, 44.0 %, 44.5 %, 45.0 %, . </xnotran>

In some embodiments of the invention, the nutritional composition further comprises from 10 wt% to 45 wt% arachidonic acid and from 1.0 wt% to 45 wt% docosahexaenoic acid, relative to the total weight of the nutritional composition, or alternatively relative to the total weight of phospholipids, milk fat globule membrane protein, d-alpha-tocopherol or d-alpha-tocopherol derivatives, docosahexaenoic acid, and arachidonic acid in the nutritional composition.

In one embodiment of the invention, when docosahexaenoic acid and arachidonic acid are present, the mass ratio of docosahexaenoic acid to arachidonic acid may be 5.0-0.2, preferably 4.0-0.5, preferably 3.0-0.8, preferably 2.0-1.0. For example, the docosahexaenoic acid to arachidonic acid ratio can be 5.0, 4.9, 4.8, 4.7, 4.6, 4.5, 4.3, 4.2, 4.1, 4.0, 3.9, 3.8, 3.7, 3.6, 3.5, 3.4, 3.3, 3.2, 3.1, 3.0, 2.9, 2.8, 2.7, 2.6, 2.5, 2.4, 2.3, 2.2, 2.1, 2.0, 1.9, 1.8, 1.7, 1.6, 1.5, 1.4, 1.3, 1.2, 1.1, 1.0, 0.9, 0.8, 0.7, 0.6, 0.5, 0.4, 0.3, 0.2, or any combination thereof and any range defined by any two or inclusive and any subrange therebetween.

When the ratio of docosahexaenoic acid to arachidonic acid is within the above range, the nutritional composition may more remarkably play a role in enhancing cognitive ability and/or enhancing memory and/or learning ability.

In one embodiment, the nutritional composition of the invention may comprise or consist of, based on the total weight of the composition, or based on the total weight of phospholipids, milk fat globule membrane proteins, d-alpha-tocopherol or d-alpha-tocopherol derivatives, optionally docosahexaenoic acid, and optionally arachidonic acid present in the nutritional composition:

-at least 0.10 wt.%, preferably at least 0.15 wt.%, preferably at least 0.20 wt.%, preferably at least 0.25 wt.%, preferably at least 0.30 wt.% and at most 1.50 wt.%, preferably at most 1.20 wt.%, preferably at most 1.00 wt.%, preferably at most 0.80 wt.%, preferably at most 0.60 wt.%, preferably at most 0.50 wt.% of d-alpha-tocopherol or a d-alpha-tocopherol derivative, such as d-alpha-tocopherol acetate.

In one embodiment, the nutritional composition of the invention may comprise or consist of, based on the total weight of the composition, or based on the total weight of phospholipids, milk fat globule membrane proteins, d-alpha-tocopherol or d-alpha-tocopherol derivatives, docosahexaenoic acid, and arachidonic acid in the nutritional composition:

-at least 0.10 wt.%, preferably at least 0.15 wt.%, preferably at least 0.20 wt.%, preferably at least 0.25 wt.% and at most 1.50 wt.%, preferably at most 1.00 wt.%, preferably at most 0.80 wt.%, preferably at most 0.70 wt.%, preferably at most 0.60 wt.%, preferably at most 0.50 wt.% of d-alpha-tocopherol or a d-alpha-tocopherol derivative, such as d-alpha-tocopherol acetate;

The nutritional composition of the invention may be prepared by mixing phospholipids, milk fat globule membrane protein and d-alpha-tocopheryl acetate and optionally docosahexaenoic acid and/or arachidonic acid. The mixing may be carried out by any suitable apparatus and method known in the art.

Food product

In another aspect, the invention also relates to a food product comprising the nutritional composition.

The food product of the present invention may be in powder form or liquid form.

The food product of the invention may be an infant formula (e.g. infant formula, follow-up formula, infant formula) such as infant formula, specialty medical formula, infant formula, nutritional supplement, formula, health food, functional food.

In one embodiment, the nutritional composition may be added to the food product in an amount of at least 0.1 wt. -%, preferably 0.2-95.0 wt. -%, preferably 0.5-80.0 wt. -%, preferably 1.0-75.0 wt. -%, preferably 1.5-50.0 wt. -%, preferably 2.0-20.0 wt. -%, preferably 2.5-15.0 wt. -%, based on the total weight of the food product. <xnotran> , , 0.1 %, 0.2 %, 0.3 %, 0.4 %, 0.5 %, 0.8 %, 1.0 %, 1.5 %, 2.0 %, 2.5 %, 3.0 %, 3.5 %, 4.0 %, 4.5 %, 5.0 %, 5.5 %, 6.0 %, 6.5 %, 7.0 %, 7.5 %, 8.0 %, 8.5 %, 9.0 %, 9.5 %, 10.0 %, 10.5 %, 11.0 %, 11.5 %, 12.0 %, 12.5 %, 13.0 %, 13.5 %, 14.0 %, 14.5 %, 15.0 %, 15.5 %, 16.0 %, 16.5 %, 17.0 %, 17.5 %, 18.0 %, 18.5 %, 19.0 %, 19.5 %, 20.0 %, 20.5 %, 21.0 %, 21.5 %, 22.0 %, 22.5 %, 23.0 %, 23.5 %, 24.0 %, 24.5 %, 25.0 %, 25.5 %, 26.0 %, 26.5 %, 27.0 %, 27.5 %, 28.0 %, 28.5 %, 29.0 %, 29.5 %, 30.0 %, 30.5 %, 31.0 %, 31.5 %, 32.0 %, 32.5 %, 33.0 %, 33.5 %, 34.0 %, 34.5 %, 35.0 %, 35.5 %, 36.0 %, 36.5 %, 37.0 %, 37.5 %, 38.0 %, 38.5 %, 39.0 %, 39.5 %, 40.0 %, 40.5 %, 41.0 %, 41.5 %, 42.0 %, 42.5 %, 43.0 %, 43.5 %, 44.0 %, 44.5 %, 45.0 %, 45.5 %, 46.0 %, </xnotran> 46.5 wt%, 47.0 wt%, 47.5 wt%, 48.0 wt%, 48.5 wt%, 49.0 wt%, 49.5 wt%, 50.0 wt%, 50.5 wt%, 51.0 wt%, 51.5 wt%, 52.0 wt%, 52.5 wt%, 53.0 wt%, 53.5 wt%, 54.0 wt%, 54.5 wt%, 55.0 wt%, 55.5 wt%, 56.0 wt%, 56.5 wt%, 57.0 wt%, 57.5 wt%, 58.0 wt%, 58.5 wt%, 59.0 wt%, 59.5 wt%, 60.0 wt%, 60.5 wt%, 61.0 wt%, 61.5 wt%, 62.0 wt%, 62.5 wt%, 63.0 wt%, 63.5 wt%, 64.0 wt%, 64.5 wt%, 65.0 wt%, 65.5 wt%, 66.0 wt%, 66.5 wt%, 67.0 wt%, 67.5 wt%, 68.0 wt%, 69.5 wt%, 69.0 wt%, 71.70 wt%, 71.5 wt%, 72.0 wt%, 72.5 wt%, 73.0 wt%, 73.5 wt%, 74.0 wt%, 74.5 wt%, 75.0 wt%, 75.5 wt%, 76.0 wt%, 76.5 wt%, 77.0 wt%, 77.5 wt%, 78.0 wt%, 78.5 wt%, 79.0 wt%, 79.5 wt%, 80.0 wt%, 80.5 wt%, 81.0 wt%, 81.5 wt%, 82.0 wt%, 82.5 wt%, 83.0 wt%, 83.5 wt%, 84.0 wt%, 84.5 wt%, 85.0 wt%, 85.5 wt%, 86.0 wt%, 86.5 wt%, 87.0 wt%, 87.5 wt%, 88.0 wt%, 88.5 wt%, 89.0 wt%, 89.5 wt%, 90.0 wt%, 90.5 wt%, 91.0 wt%, 91.5 wt%, 91.0 wt%, 92.0 wt%, 92.5 wt%, 93.0 wt%, 94.5 wt%, 94.0 wt%, 94.5 wt%, 95.5 wt%, or any subrange therein.

In addition to the components described above for the nutritional composition, the food product may comprise other ingredients, such as other proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals etc. which are often contained in milk powder.

These ingredients are further described below.

Other proteins

The nutritional composition may comprise other protein sources in addition to milk fat globule membrane proteins. It is especially preferred when the food product of the invention is an infant formula that it contains a further source of protein.

The other protein source is preferably derived from raw bovine and/or ovine milk, whole milk powder, skim milk powder, desalted whey, whey protein powder, concentrated whey protein powder, milk fat globule membrane protein powder, osteopontin (OPN), alpha-lactalbumin, hydrolyzed whey protein, soy, and combinations thereof.

Carbohydrate compound

The food product of the invention may also comprise a source of carbohydrates. This is particularly preferred when the food product of the invention is an infant formula. The carbohydrate may be one or more. The preferred carbohydrate source is lactose, but other carbohydrates may be added.

Fat

In the present invention, other fat sources may be included in addition to the phospholipids, docosahexaenoic acid and arachidonic acid. The other fat source may be any lipid or fat or lipid or fat containing material suitable for use in food products. When the food product of the invention is an infant formula, it is particularly preferred that it comprises any lipid or fat suitable for use in infant formulas.

Preferred fat sources include bovine and/or ovine milk, soybean oil, and/or coconut oil, and/or linseed oil, and/or walnut oil, and/or sunflower oil, and/or 1,3-dioleate 2-palmitate, and may also contain essential polyunsaturated fatty acids such as: linoleic acid and alpha-linolenic acid.

Vitamins, minerals and other ingredients

The food product of the invention may contain, in addition to d-alpha-tocopherol or a d-alpha-tocopherol derivative, such as d-alpha-tocopherol acetate, all the nutrients considered essential for the daily diet, which may be vitamins and minerals or other forms necessary to maintain normal nutrition. Minerals, vitamins and other nutrients optionally present in the nutritional composition include vitamin a, vitamin D, vitamin E, vitamin K, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, vitamin C, biotin, folic acid, inositol, niacin, pantothenic acid, choline, calcium, phosphorus, iodine, iron, magnesium, copper, zinc, manganese, chloride, potassium, sodium, selenium, taurine and l-carnitine. The minerals are usually added in the form of salts.

The food product of the invention may also optionally comprise other ingredients which may have a beneficial effect or which are well known in the art, such as lutein, nucleotides, 1,3-dioleate 2-palmitoyl triglyceride. The amounts are those amounts normally used in nutritional compositions. The nucleotide may be, for example, cytidine 5' -monophosphate (CMP) and/or its sodium salt, uridine 5' -monophosphate (UMP) and/or its sodium salt, adenosine 5' -monophosphate (AMP) and/or its sodium salt, guanosine 5' -monophosphate (GMP) and/or its sodium salt, inosine 5' -monophosphate (IMP) and/or its sodium salt, and mixtures thereof.

Examples

The following detailed description is provided for the purpose of illustrating the embodiments and the advantageous effects of the present invention, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. The following examples are carried out according to conventional procedures in the art, without specifying specific conditions.

Starting materials

In the examples section that follows, the starting materials used are as follows, unless otherwise indicated.

Phospholipid: EMULPUR SF available from Yu Jiaji asia-pacific food systems (beijing) ltd.

Milk fat globule membrane protein: lacprodan MFGM-10 (concentrated whey protein powder (MFGM) from Ara Foods Ingredients.

d- α -tocopheryl acetate: d-alpha-tocopheryl acetate available from Impermann vitamin (Shanghai) Co., ltd, wherein the effective component of the d-alpha-tocopheryl acetate is 47%.

Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA): docosahexaenoic acid lipid powder purchased from Yu Run, bioengineering (Fujian) Co., ltd., wherein the DHA content of the docosahexaenoic acid raw material is 7%.

Arachidonic acid (ARA): arachidonic acid fat powder available from Yu Run, bioengineering (Fujian) Co., ltd, wherein the ARA content of the arachidonic acid raw material is 10%.

In the following sections, unless otherwise specified, when referring to the content of each ingredient in the nutritional composition, the content of the ingredient refers to the mass ratio of the (active) ingredient relative to the total weight of phospholipids, milk fat globule membrane protein, d-alpha-tocopheryl acetate, docosahexaenoic acid, and arachidonic acid as active ingredients.

Preparation of example 1

A nutritional composition 1 was prepared by mixing phospholipid, milk fat globule membrane protein, and d- α -tocopherol acetate at a certain ratio, and the composition of the nutritional composition 1 is shown in table 1.

In addition, the nutritional composition 1 was added to milk powder to formulate a milk powder product 1. The amounts of the ingredients of the nutritional composition 1 added to the milk powder relative to 100g of the formulated milk powder product are also shown in table 1.

TABLE 1 composition of nutritional composition 1 and the amount of each ingredient added to milk powder

Preparation of example 2

Various nutritional compositions were prepared by mixing phospholipids, milk fat globule membrane protein, d-alpha-tocopheryl acetate, docosahexaenoic acid and arachidonic acid in a certain ratio, the compositions of which are shown in table 2, wherein compositions 3-5 are nutritional compositions according to the invention, composition 2 is a blank control, and composition 6 is a nutritional composition formulated according to CN 107920574A.

In addition, the nutritional compositions are added into milk powder to prepare infant formula milk powder food. The nutritional compositions used in each milk powder product and the amounts of each ingredient added to the milk powder in each nutritional composition are shown in table 3.

TABLE 2 composition of nutritional compositions

TABLE 3 amount of each ingredient added (mg/100 g milk powder) in the nutritional composition applied to infant formula milk powder

Evaluation example 1

In this example, the effect of the nutritional composition on intelligence development, in particular brain cognition, learning, memory was studied.

In order to verify the effect of the nutrient composition in the milk powder on the aspects of intelligence development and memory, an animal (rat) experiment is designed by combining the content of the nutrient composition brought by the milk powder taken by the infants every day and the content of each nutrient raw material. The details of the animal test are described below.

In the experiment, 105g of milk powder is supposed to be taken by infants every day, and the average weight is 5.5kg. The rats were gavaged with each nutritional composition according to the standard that the amount of nutrients ingested per body weight of the rats was 10 times the amount of nutrients ingested per body weight of the infants. Calculated, the daily intake of material by rats is shown in table 4.

TABLE 4 composition ratio and addition amount (mg/kg) of composition ingested by rats of different groups

Animal experiments

1. Animal selection and treatment

1.1 rat selection and rearing

Rat: according to the standard of 5 rats for each test, 25 naive SD rats were selected and evenly randomly assigned to 5 groups.

A breeding environment: keeping the ambient temperature at 22 + -1 deg.C and relative humidity (60 + -5 deg.C), feeding standard fodder, freely taking food and drinking water, and pre-feeding for one week. Gavage was continued for 4 weeks thereafter.

1.2 composition feeding regimen

The stomach was gavaged orally every morning, as measured in Table 4, at a gavage volume of 1ml/100g body weight. Rats were weighed every week to vary the dose.

2. Test protocol

2.1 Morris Water maze experiment:

the Morris water maze experiment (MWM) is an experiment for forcing an experimental animal (rat) to swim, learn and search for a platform hidden in water, and is mainly used for testing the learning and memory capacity of the experimental animal on spatial position sense and direction sense (spatial positioning).

In this experiment, rats were placed into the water trough (and facing the wall of the water trough) from the water entry point in quadrants i-iv in sequence each time, and the time for the rats to find and climb up the platform after entering the water maze, i.e. the escape latency, referred to as latency for short, was recorded. The number of assays was 5 per group. The measurement results are reported as average values.

2.2. Brain acetylcholinesterase content:

the gavage of the rats was continued for 4 weeks. After the rat is sacrificed, the brain tissue is taken out and the content of acetylcholinesterase is measured. The number of assays was 5/group.

2.3. Brain superoxide dismutase content:

the rats were sacrificed by continuous gavage for 4 weeks, and brain tissue of the rats was taken and assayed for their superoxide dismutase content. The number of assays was 5 per group.

2.4. Brain nitric oxide synthase content:

after the rats were sacrificed after 4 weeks of continuous gavage, brain tissue from the rats was taken and the nitric oxide synthase content in the rat brain was determined. The number of assays was 5 per group.

3. Conclusion of the experiment

3.1 Effect of the composition on learning ability of rats

The influence of different nutritional compositions on the latency of rats was investigated by performing a water maze experiment on rats, thereby exploring the influence on the learning and memory abilities of rats.

Combined with the result of the rat escape latency test, the following results are found: the incubation period of the rats decreased with increasing training time, and each composition had no significant effect on learning ability of the rats 3 days before training. The effect of each composition on learning ability of rats was mainly shown on day 4.

Figure 1 shows the effect of different nutritional compositions on the fourth day latency of rats. As can be seen from fig. 1, the latency time of the rats in trials 2, 3, and 4 was significantly reduced at day four compared to trial 1 and trial 5, which were control groups. According to the experimental results, the nutritional composition provided by the invention can be used for remarkably improving the learning ability and cognitive ability of rats.

3.2 Effect of the composition on rat brain acetylcholinesterase

AchE is a key enzyme in biological nerve conduction, and can degrade acetylcholine, terminate the excitation of neurotransmitter on postsynaptic membranes, and ensure the normal transmission of nerve signals in organisms. The acetylcholinesterase is involved in the development and maturation of cells, and can promote the development of neurons and nerve regeneration.

Therefore, the influence of the nutrient ratio on the learning and memory capacity of the brain can be indirectly characterized by measuring the content of acetylcholinesterase in rat brain tissues.

Figure 2 shows the effect of different nutritional compositions on acetylcholinesterase levels in rat brain. As can be seen from fig. 2, the acetylcholinesterase content in the rat brain was significantly increased in experiments 2, 3, and 4, compared to experiments 1 and 5, which were used as a control group. Therefore, the nutritional composition can improve the content of acetylcholinesterase in the brain of a rat, thereby indirectly proving that the composition can improve the memory of the brain.

3.3Effect of the composition on superoxide dismutase in rat brain

Superoxide dismutase (SOD) is an important antioxidant enzyme in organisms, can effectively remove excessive superoxide anion free radicals in the organisms to keep dynamic balance, and blocks a series of pathological reactions caused by the excessive superoxide anion free radicals. Brain injury can produce a large number of free radicals. The SOD level is often monitored to determine the degree of brain damage.

Therefore, by measuring the content of superoxide dismutase (SOD) in rat brain tissue, the influence of nutrients on the learning and memory ability of the brain can be indirectly characterized.

Figure 3 shows the effect of different nutritional compositions on the superoxide dismutase content in rat brain. As can be seen from fig. 3, the rat brain in the experiments 2, 3 and 4 had a significantly increased SOD content compared to the experiments 1 and 5 as the control group, and had a significant difference (P < 0.05) from the control group. Therefore, the nutritional composition can improve the SOD content in the rat brain, thereby indirectly verifying that the composition has better effect of improving the memory of the brain.

3.4Effect of the composition on nitric oxide synthase in rat brain

Nitric Oxide (NO) is an unstable, highly-disseminating free radical that exists under normal physiological conditions, primarily from vascular endothelial cells, and secondarily from nerve fibers, neurons, and glial cells contained within the brain. NO is found to be an important neurotransmitter in the central nervous system, and is involved in various functions in the brain, such as regulating the release of the neurotransmitter to enhance the hippocampal long-time Cheng Tuchu transmission and the like. The proper amount of NO produced can meet the physiological function requirement, but the excessive production can cause pathological damage to brain tissues. Wherein the release of nitric oxide is influenced by nitric oxide synthase.

Nitric Oxide Synthase (NOS) is an isoenzyme present in endothelial cells, macrophages, neurophagocytes, and nerve cells, respectively. Nitric oxide synthase is present in neurons and is selectively distributed in different brain regions. Since nitric oxide is very unstable, it seems easier to study the nitric oxide-producing enzymes, and in particular the discovery of nitric oxide synthase antagonists, greatly facilitates the study of some nitric oxide functions.

Therefore, by measuring the amount of nitric oxide synthase in rat brain tissue, the effect of nutrients on brain learning and memory can be indirectly characterized.

Figure 4 shows the effect of different nutritional compositions on nitric oxide synthase levels in rat brain. As can be seen from fig. 4, the NOS content in the rat brain was significantly reduced in experiments 2, 3 and 4 compared to experiments 1 and 5 as the control group, which was significantly different from the control group (P < 0.05). Therefore, the composition can reduce the content of NOS in the rat brain, thereby indirectly verifying that the composition has better effect on improving the memory of the brain.

In conclusion, the nutritional composition has a better effect on enhancing cognitive ability and/or enhancing memory and/or learning ability.

Claims

2. The nutritional composition of claim 1, wherein

-the source of phospholipids is a milk source and/or a plant source; preferably, the milk source is raw cow milk, and/or raw sheep milk, and/or whole milk powder, and/or desalted whey powder, and/or whey protein powder, and/or concentrated whey protein powder, and/or milk fat globule membrane protein powder; preferably, the plant source is soybean oil, and/or coconut oil, and/or linseed oil, and/or walnut oil, and/or soya lecithin, and/or sunflower seed oil; and/or

-said milk fat globule membrane protein is derived from raw milk and/or raw sheep milk and/or whole milk powder and/or desalted whey powder and/or whey protein powder and/or concentrated whey protein powder and/or milk fat globule membrane protein powder; and/or

-said d-alpha-tocopherol derivative is d-alpha-tocopherol acetate.

3. The nutritional composition according to any one of claims 1-2, wherein the total weight of phospholipids, milk fat globule membrane proteins, and d-alpha-tocopherol or d-alpha-tocopherol derivatives, optionally docosahexaenoic acid, and optionally arachidonic acid,

-the content of phospholipids is 2.0-12.0 wt.%, preferably 3.0-11.0 wt.%, preferably 5.0-10.5 wt.%, preferably 7.0-10.0 wt.%, preferably 8.0-9.5 wt.%; and/or

-the milk fat globule membrane protein content is 26.0-92.0 wt. -%, preferably 50.0-91.5 wt. -%, preferably 70.0-91.5 wt. -%, preferably 75.0-91.0 wt. -%, preferably 80.0-91.0 wt. -%; and/or

-the content of d-alpha-tocopherol or d-alpha-tocopherol derivatives is 0.10% to 1.50% by weight, preferably 0.15% to 1.00% by weight, preferably 0.20 to 0.80% by weight, preferably 0.25 to 0.50% by weight.

4. The nutritional composition according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein the nutritional composition consists of phospholipids, milk fat globule membrane proteins, and d-alpha-tocopherol or d-alpha-tocopherol derivatives.

5. The nutritional composition according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein the nutritional composition comprises or consists of, relative to the total weight of the nutritional composition, or relative to the total weight of phospholipids, milk fat globule membrane protein, and d-alpha-tocopherol or d-alpha-tocopherol derivative, optionally docosahexaenoic acid, and optionally arachidonic acid present in the nutritional composition:

6. The nutritional composition of any one of claims 1-3, wherein the nutritional composition further comprises docosahexaenoic acid; preferably, the docosahexaenoic acid is present in an amount of 1.0-45.0 wt.%, preferably 1.5-20.0 wt.%, preferably 2.0-15.0 wt.%, preferably 2.5-10.0 wt.%, preferably 3.0-8.0 wt.%, preferably 3.0-6.0 wt.%, relative to the total weight of the nutritional composition, or relative to the total weight of phospholipids, milk fat globule membrane protein, d-alpha-tocopherol or d-alpha-tocopherol derivative, docosahexaenoic acid, and optionally arachidonic acid in the nutritional composition; and/or

The nutritional composition further includes arachidonic acid; preferably, the arachidonic acid is present in an amount of 1.0% to 45.0% by weight, preferably 1.5 to 20.0% by weight, preferably 2.0 to 15.0% by weight, preferably 2.5 to 10.0% by weight, preferably 3.0 to 8.0% by weight, preferably 3.0 to 6.0% by weight, relative to the total weight of the nutritional composition, or relative to the total weight of phospholipids, milk fat globule membrane proteins, and d-alpha-tocopherol or d-alpha-tocopherol derivative, optionally docosahexaenoic acid, and arachidonic acid in the nutritional composition.

7. Nutritional composition according to any one of claims 1-3 and 6, wherein when docosahexaenoic acid and arachidonic acid are present, the mass ratio of docosahexaenoic acid to arachidonic acid is from 5.0 to 0.2, preferably from 4.0 to 0.5, preferably from 3.0 to 0.8, preferably from 2.0 to 1.0.

8. The nutritional composition of any one of claims 1-3 and 6-7, wherein the nutritional composition consists of phospholipids, milk fat globule membrane protein, d-alpha-tocopherol or d-alpha-tocopherol derivatives, docosahexaenoic acid, and arachidonic acid.

9. The nutritional composition according to any one of claims 1-3 and 6-7, wherein the nutritional composition comprises or consists of, relative to the total weight of the nutritional composition, or relative to the total weight of phospholipids, milk fat globule membrane proteins, and d-alpha-tocopherol or d-alpha-tocopherol derivatives, docosahexaenoic acid, and arachidonic acid in the nutritional composition:

10. A food product comprising the nutritional composition of any one of claims 1-9; preferably the food product is selected from infant formula, nutritional supplement, recombined milk powder, special medical formula, health food, and functional food; preferably, the nutritional composition is added in an amount of at least 0.1 wt. -%, preferably 0.2-95.0 wt. -%, preferably 0.5-80.0 wt. -%, preferably 1.0-75.0 wt. -%, preferably 1.5-50.0 wt. -%, preferably 2.0-20.0 wt. -%, preferably 2.5-15.0 wt. -%, relative to the total weight of the food product; preferably, the food product is in powder or liquid form.