Ultrasonic Homogenization of Expressed Human Milk to Prevent Fat Loss During Tube Feeding

Abstract

Effective use of expressed human milk in infant feeding requires proper handling, processing, storage, and administration in order to maintain its unique nutritional properties. One of the problems with expressed human milk is the separation of fat during processing, storage, and administration to the infant. Administration by continuous nasogastric infusion, either by intermittent gravity flow or by continuous mechanical pump, resulted in significant loss of fat and variation in the constitution of the milk delivered. Homogenization by ultrasonic treatment prevented changes in fat concentration during infusion and essentially eliminated loss of this nutrient during administration. The conditions necessary to achieve fat dispersion and stabilization of fat particles in human milk by ultrasonic treatment are described.