Nucleotides are found in cow’s milk and made using a special process that purifies them into a form that is suitable for nutritional formulas. They are recognized as nutrient ingredients by FSANZ.

Nucleotides play different roles in infants and children, mainly in their growing tissues:

• Growth and development: children’s tissues start growing and increasing in size and complexity much more rapidly than adults. To do this, their cells divide and making copies of themselves. This requires new DNA, which supports the making of new chromosomes. The different nucleotides are used specifically in this critical process.
• Immune and gut health: tissues in these parts of the body have trouble making their own nucleotides, so they prefer to have them provided through diet. In the gut, this also leads to support of the intestine’s ability to function properly¹ and perform its job of absorbing nutrients. This ultimately also protects growth and development.

In one research investigation, children born smaller than normal, also known as small for gestational age (SGA) have been reported to show improvements in growth and weight gain, after the addition of nucleotides to their formula² (figure). Nucleotides also help with taking up fatty acids for energy³. These results suggest

Nucleotides have also been found to help children’s bodies make more of special kinds of immune cells that are used to fight viruses⁴. A research trial of a nutrient formula containing nucleotides has demonstrated a 25% reduction in the incidence of diarrhea episodes caused by gut infections⁵

Increased growth of SGA infants fed nucleotides