Use of chestnut in the feeding of infants allergic to cow's milk or intolerant to lactose.

The aminoacid contents of native chestnut and its powdered form were studied. It was found that it has low cystine and methionine contents but if it is supplemented accordingly, the chestnut pulp can well be used for infant feeding. More than 50 infants were fed with chestnuts, and only in two cases was there intolerance. The aminoacid content of supplemented chestnut formula was lower than that of cow's milk and soy bean, but equal to that of human milk and as its essential aminoacid ratio was high, the infant's development was normal. Chestnut pulp is recommended as an alternative to soybean in the treatment of lactose intolerance and cow's milk allergy.