NMR-Based Metabolomic Profiling Highlights Functional Nutritional Gaps Between Human Milk, Infant Formulas, and Animal Milks

Human milk represents the gold standard for infant nutrition, providing a complex and bioactive metabolite profile essential for early development. Despite efforts to enrich infant and toddler formulas with functional ingredients, significant biochemical differences persist. This study aimed to characterize and compare the metabolomic composition of human milk, cow’s milk (both conventional and lactose-free), goat’s milk, and a variety of commercial formulas, including both infant (0–12 months) and toddler (1–3 years) formulations, using 1H NMR-based metabolomics.