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Effect Of Clotting In Stomachs Of Infants On Protein Digestibility Of Milk, S. Nakai, E. Li-Chan

Food Structure

Differences in clotting between human and cow's milk in the stomachs of infants are discussed. Gastric pH, after ingesting milk, of an infant up to 6 months of age stays at a pH range of 4-5, near the isoelectric point of casein, and never reaches the value of 2, which is found in adults. Pepsin C (or gastricsin) can hydrolyze proteins at this pH range. Gastric emptying time is shorter with human milk than with cow's milk which appears to be correlated to the smaller size of human milk clots. Elimination of a readily coagulable fraction of casein from cow's …