Boston: The a2 Milk Company, a dairy nutrition company, has announced new clinical and preclinical research examining infant growth and safety, protein utilisation and gastrointestinal biomarkers, and digestive tolerance associated with A1- and A2-type beta-casein proteins.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the research was presented at NUTRITION 2026, the annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition. The studies were conducted by The a2 Milk Company along with company-funded research by investigators from Purdue University and Nova Southeastern University.
The company presented results from a randomised, double-blind controlled trial evaluating infant formula made with milk free from A1-type beta-casein protein (A1PF) in healthy term infants. The Growth Monitoring Study, required by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for new infant formulas, found that infants fed the A1PF formula experienced normal growth throughout the 16-week study period, meeting the FDA's predefined non-inferiority criteria compared with a commercially available infant formula.
Additional analyses showed that infants receiving the A1PF formula recorded about six per cent greater average weight gain, around 6.6 per cent greater length gain, and higher weight-for-age and length-for-age z-scores at 16 weeks. A separate preclinical study presented by The a2 Milk Company Senior Global Research Manager, Kirsty Armstrong, examined the protein component of A1PF infant formula using the Association of Official Analytical Collaboration (AOAC INTERNATIONAL) Protein Efficiency Ratio (PER) Official Method 960.48.
Key findings included higher adjusted PER, elevated antioxidant status, reduced gastrointestinal inflammatory markers, improved intestinal barrier function markers, and increased lactase gene and protein expression. The company said the findings suggest that A1PF milk in infant formula may support improved protein quality and a more favourable gastrointestinal environment for nutrient utilisation, although further research is needed to determine the clinical significance of these findings.
Researchers from Purdue University also investigated the role of A1- and A2-type beta-casein in digestion and metabolism, while Nova Southeastern University examined how naturally occurring differences in milk proteins may influence inflammation in the gut and brain, contributing to ongoing research into the links between nutrition, inflammation, digestive health and cognitive function.