Goat and cow milk merits distinct nutritional and functional properties based on simulated gastrointestinal digestion of infant.

The nutritional and functional properties of goat and cow milk in digestive tract of infant is unclear. Applying simulated infant gastrointestinal digestion method, this study aims to systematically compare digestibility, peptide profiling, and immunomodulatory role of goat and cow milk, and further characterize their role in regulating homeostasis of gut microbiota and metabolism. It's found that the degree of hydrolysis and number of detected peptides was higher in goat milk (GM), while the relative abundance of predicted allergic peptides was higher in cow milk (CM). In addition, the expression of IL-1β and/or IL-6 in colonic organoids was elevated after GM or CM digesta intervention. Furthermore, GM and CM showed distinct effects on the composition of gut microbiota and metabolite profiles in an in vitro hindgut fermentation system using infant fecal inocula. The results provide basis for future applications of GM and CM in infant feeding, and further validation is required.