Infant Formula Study With Pre- And Postbiotics

August 26, 2026 updated by: Nutricia UK Ltd

Gastrointestinal Tolerance, Safety And Acceptability In Infants Consuming Palm Oil Free Infant Formula Containing Prebiotics And Postbiotics

This prospective, single-arm study evaluates the gastrointestinal tolerance, safety, and growth, quality of life and gut microbiome development of healthy term infants fed a commercially available palm oil free infant formula containing prebiotics and postbiotics derived from fermentation over a 24-week period. Infants aged 0 to 6 weeks who were exclusively formula-fed at enrolment received the study formula as their sole source of nutrition. The primary objective is to assess gastrointestinal tolerance and safety. Secondary objectives include assessment of infant quality of life, parental experience and to characterise the development of the infant gut microbiome. The study includes four visits over 24 weeks, during which clinical measurements, safety assessments, and sample collection are performed.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
30

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Ireland
      • Cork, Ireland
        • Atlantia Food Clinical Trials

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion criteria:

  1. Parent's or legal guardian's aged 18 years, written informed consent.
  2. Infants exclusively formula fed at enrolment and parents/legal guardians have autonomously decided to exclusively formula feed until the end of intervention.
  3. Infants aged 0 to 6 weeks (day 0 to day 42 inclusive).
  4. Healthy term singleton infants, gestational age ~ 37 and < 42 weeks (i.e.,~ 41 weeks+ 6 days). Healthy is defined as no supervision or medical treatment by a medical specialist.
  5. Birth weight between 2.5 - 4.5 kg (within normal range for gestational age and sex, according to WHO definitions).
  6. Willing to continue using the infant formula, during the study, not switching of formula, except for medical purposes in which case the infant would be excluded.

Exclusion criteria:

  1. Infants with congenital condition and/or previous or current illness and (or) medication use that could interfere with the study, in the opinion of the medical doctor.
  2. Infants with established or suspected cows' milk allergy, lactose intolerance, galactosaemia, or infants on a prescribed fibre-free (e.g., prebiotic oligosaccharides) diet.
  3. Participation in any other studies involving investigational or marketed products concomitantly or within two weeks prior to entry into the study.
  4. Investigator's uncertainty about the willingness or ability of the parents/legal guardians to comply with the protocol requirements.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Basic Science
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Infant formula
24-weeks consumption of cow's milk based palm oil free infant formula with prebiotics and postbiotics derived from fermentation
Other: Infant Formula
Cow's milk based infant formula with with prebiotics and postbiotics derived from fermentation

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Gastrointestinal Tolerance - Stool consistency and frequency
Time Frame: 24 weeks
Gastrointestinal tolerance evaluated with stool consistency and stool frequency for 3 consecutive days after first intake of study product and before each visit at week 2, week 10, and week 24 of intervention.
24 weeks
Safety - Growth (Weight)
Time Frame: 24 weeks
Safety parameters included weight gain measured at baseline, week 2, week 10, and week 24 of intervention.
24 weeks
Safety - Growth (Length)
Time Frame: 24 weeks
Safety parameters included length gain measured at baseline, week 2, week 10, and week 24 of intervention.
24 weeks
Safety - Growth (Head circumference)
Time Frame: 24 weeks
Safety parameters included head circumference measured at baseline, week 2, week 10, and week 24 of intervention.
24 weeks
Safety - Adverse Events
Time Frame: 24 weeks
Occurrence of (serious) AE measured throughout the intervention period.
24 weeks
Gastrointestinal Tolerance - Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL)
Time Frame: 24 weeks
Scores are transformed to a 0 to 100 scale, with higher scores indicating better health-related quality of life and fewer problems. PedsQL to assess infant's quality of life at baseline and week 2, week 10, and week 24.
24 weeks
Gastrointestinal Tolerance - Infant Gastrointestinal Symptom Questionnaire (IGSQ-13)
Time Frame: 24 weeks
The IGSQ-13 consists of 13 items with a total score ranging from 13 to 65, where lower scores indicate better gastrointestinal tolerance and fewer symptoms, and higher scores indicate greater gastrointestinal distress. IGSQ-13 questionnaire to asses gastrointestinal tolerance at baseline and week 2, week 10, and week 24.
24 weeks

Other Outcome Measures

Other Outcome Measures

For clinical trials, a planned measurement described in the protocol that is used to determine the effect of an intervention/treatment on participants. For observational studies, a measurement or observation that is used to describe patterns of diseases or traits, or associations with exposures, risk factors, or treatment. Types of outcome measures include primary outcome measure and secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Exploratory parameter - Gut Microbiota
Time Frame: 24 weeks
Characterisation of the gut microbiota composition and functionality of infants consuming the study product at baseline and week 2, week 10, and week 24 using metagenomics and culturomics sequencing methods.
24 weeks
Exploratory parameter - Parent's Product Acceptability
Time Frame: 24 weeks
To assess acceptability of the study product at baseline and week 2, week 10, and week 24 using a product evaluation questionnaire.
24 weeks
Exploratory parameter - Comparison with INFANTMET study
Time Frame: 24 weeks
Comparison of gut microbiota composition and functionality with an external reference cohort of exclusively breastfed infants from the INFANTMET study.
24 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Nutricia UK Ltd

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
University College Cork
Atlantia Food Clinical Trials
Teagasc
Danone Global Research & Innovation Center

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Catherine Stanton, Teagasc

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
June 17, 2021

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
October 18, 2023

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
October 18, 2023

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
June 17, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
July 23, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
July 29, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
August 28, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
August 26, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
August 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • AFCRO-123

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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