The aim of the project is to develop an alternative procedure for preservation and storage of human milk (HM) that will minimize the loss of nutrients and biologically active components.
This goal will be achieved by designing and building a prototype of a device for generating pressure at subzero temperature, intended for samples with a volume of 100-150 mL (average volume of milk donated to banks) and determining the changes of selected nutrients and biologically active components and the degree of microbiota inactivation in HM during storage at subzero temperature and high pressure in the conditions when the water remain unfrozen.
Breastfeeding is the best way of nutrition newborns and child up to second years old. This recommendation of WHO results from the unusual properties of human milk (HM). The quality and quantity of compounds in HM is perfectly adapted to the needs of developing children at every stage of their growth and is one of the main factors responsible for maintaining their good health in adult age. In the case of premature babies, breastfeeding provides proper maturation of underdeveloped digestive and immune system and significantly reduce the risk certain diseases. Therefore, when the mother cannot breastfeed the best alternative, especially regarding feeding premature infants, is then use of HM collected in Human Milk Banks (HMB). Although the microbiota of HM is important component positively influencing the development of the infant, some risk of transferring dangerous diseases as a result of secondary contamination causes that in most HMB the milk is preserving by heating at 62.5C for 30 min. Such treatment leads to a significant reduction in the nutritional and biological value of the HM. Therefore, new methods for preserving HM are searched for, which will ensure microbiological safety, but the properties of milk will be maintained as much as possible.
