scholarly journals Health Risk Assessments of Selected Trace Elements and Factors Associated with Their Levels in Human Breast Milk from Pretoria, South Africa

Author(s):  
Joshua O. Olowoyo ◽  
Linda R. Macheka ◽  
Phiona M. Mametja

While breast milk is the recommended food for infants up to at least six months, exogenously derived compounds such as trace elements have been widely reported in human milk which may make it become toxic or a source of pollutants to the infants. Numerous short- and long-term health effects have been associated with high body—burdens of trace elements, which are amplified in infants. The current study determined the levels and possible contributing factors of six trace elements in breast milk of nursing mothers from a local hospital in Pretoria. Extraction of trace elements employed a digestion technique using perchloric and nitric acid in a ratio of 1:3, while Inductively Coupled Plasma–Membrane Spectrophotometry was used to identify and quantify their levels in breast milk. Concentrations of Cr and Mn were the highest in breast milk, with values ranging from 0.30 to 5.72 µg/L and 0.23 to 5.13 µg/L, respectively. Levels of Co, As, Pb and Cd ranged from <LOD to 0.2 µg/L, <LOD to 2.29 µg/L, 0.05 to 1.06 µg/L, and 0.004 to 0.005 µg/L, respectively. Levels of Cr, Mn and As were higher than the recommended limits from WHO (World Health Organization) in some milk samples. Dietary assessments showed minimal risk for the infants through breastfeeding at this stage; however, prolonged exposure to other sources of these toxic trace elements may pose a serious health risk for the infants. The nature of employment, infant birth weight, passive smoking and maternal diet were the significant factors noted to contribute to trace metal levels in breast milk.

Author(s):  
Yahya R. Tahboub ◽  
Adnan M. Massadeh ◽  
Nihaya A. Al-sheyab ◽  
Diab El shrafat ◽  
Israa A. Nsserat

2006 ◽  
Vol 139 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Agus Sudaryanto ◽  
Tatsuya Kunisue ◽  
Natsuko Kajiwara ◽  
Hisato Iwata ◽  
Tussy A. Adibroto ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Sajjad Hussain ◽  
Muhammad Habib-Ur-Rehman ◽  
Tasawar Khanam ◽  
Abbas Sheer ◽  
Zhang Kebin ◽  
...  

Water pollution is a major threat to public health worldwide. The health risks of ingesting trace elements in drinking water were assessed in the provinces of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Eight trace elements were measured in drinking water, using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS), and compared with permissible limits established by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (Pak EPA). In addition, health risk indicators such as the chronic daily intake (CDI) and the health risk index (HRI) were calculated. Our results showed that the concentrations of chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni), and manganese (Mn) were 2593, 1306, and 695 ng/g, respectively, in Lahore and Jhang, while the concentrations of arsenic (As) in Lahore, Vehari, Multan, and Jhang were 51, 50.4, 24, and 22 ng/g, respectively, which were higher than the permissible limits suggested by the WHO. The values of CDI were found to be in the order of Cr > Ni > Mn > Cu > As > Pb > Co > Cd. Similarly, the health risk index (HRI) values exceeded the safe limits (>1) in many cities (eg, Cr and Ni in Lahore and As in Vehari, Jhang, Lahore, and Multan). The aforementioned analysis shows that consumption of trace element-contaminated water poses an emerging health danger to the populations of these localities. Furthermore, inter-metal correlation and principal component analysis (PCA) showed that both anthropogenic and geologic activities were primary sources of drinking water contamination in the investigated areas.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroshi M Ueno ◽  
Satoshi Higurashi ◽  
Yuzuka Shimomura ◽  
Ryota Wakui ◽  
Hiroaki Matsuura ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Background DHA (22:6n–3) is essential for neurodevelopment in children, and its concentration in human breast milk is historically high in Japan. Dietary patterns in Japan might affect the fatty acid (FA) composition among lactating mothers. Objectives This study aimed to characterize the composition of milk FAs and to identify any dietary and sociodemographic factors associated with the variability of DHA concentration in breast milk in the Japanese population. Methods This cross-sectional study was performed as part of the Japanese Human Milk Study. Milk FAs were analyzed by GC at 1–6 mo postpartum, and maternal diet was estimated using an FFQ, including 11 types and cooking methods of seafoods, and the use of DHA supplements. The association of milk DHA with maternal diet and sociodemographic factors was investigated. Results Milk FA concentrations were measured in 78 mothers, including 24 who routinely used DHA supplements. The DHA concentration in milk (overall median: 0.62%; IQR: 0.47%–0.78%) was higher in women who took DHA supplements than in women who had never used DHA supplements (0.74%compared with 0.55%; P = 0.011). A linear regression model showed the association of milk DHA concentration with maternal dietary intake of grilled fish (β ± SE: 0.006 ± 0.003; standardized β: 0.234; r2 = 0.232, P = 0.036) after adjustment for DHA supplementation status, maternal and infant age, maternal BMI, and infant birth weight. Other FA concentrations were consistent, whereas caproic acid (6:0), undecylic acid (11:0), pentadecylic acid (15:0), palmitoleic acid (16:1n–7), and vaccenic acid (18:1n–7) varied by DHA supplementation status. Conclusions The DHA concentration in human milk may be influenced by maternal grilled fish consumption and frequent DHA supplementation in lactating Japanese women. Milk DHA concentrations may reflect a dietary habit in Japanese mothers. This trial was registered at www.umin.ac.jp/ctr as UMIN000015494.


PeerJ ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. e6452 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clara Luz Sampieri ◽  
Hilda Montero

Background The disease Zika is considered as emergent. The infection can be acquired through different routes: a bite from the Aedes mosquito, sexual contact, from mother to child during pregnancy and by blood transfusion. The possibility of Zika transmission through human lactation has been considered. Zika is a disease of great concern for public health because it has been associated with neonatal and postnatal microcephaly, among other birth defects. Objectives To review published evidence of the probable transmission of Zika through human lactation. Data sources Electronic databases: Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, EBSCO, Gale, Science Direct, Scopus, US National Library of Medicine (PubMed) and Web of Science. World Health Organization and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention web pages. Study eligibility criteria To be eligible, studies of any design had to provide primary data of human breast milk as a potential fluid for the transmission of Zika, or primary or secondary follow-up data of infants with at least one previous published study that complied with the first criterion of eligibility. Participants Studies about women with suspected, probable or confirmed Zika during pregnancy, or the postnatal period and beyond. Studies about infants who breastfeed directly from the breast or where fed with the expressed breast milk of the suspected, probable or confirmed women with Zika. Results This study only chose data from research papers; no patients were taken directly by the authors. A total of 1,146 were screened and nine studies were included in the qualitative synthesis, from which a total of 10 cases were identified, with documented follow-up in three of these cases. Through the timing of maternal Zika infection, five cases were classified as prenatal (time before delivery), one as immediate postnatal (period from 0 to 4 days after birth); no cases were classified as medium postnatal (period from 5 days to 8 weeks after birth); two were classified as long postnatal (period from 8 weeks to 6 months after birth) and two as beyond six months after birth. Conclusion Human milk may be considered as a potentially infectious fluid, but we found no currently documented studies of the long-term complications in infants up to 32 months of age, with suspected, probable or confirmed Zika through human lactation, or evidence with respect to the human pathophysiology of the infection acquired through human lactation. In the light of the studies reviewed here, the World Health Organization recommendation of June 29th 2016, remains valid: “the benefits of breastfeeding for the infant and mother outweigh any potential risk of Zika virus transmission through breast milk.”


Author(s):  
Godwin Asukwo Ebong ◽  
Emmanuel Udo Dan ◽  
Uwemedimo Emmanuel Udo

A number of local butchers in Uyo metropolis usually make use of used scrap car tyres (USCT) and condemned plastics (CPS) as close substitutes for firewood to singe slaughtered ruminants. This study evaluated the effect of singeing materials on the distribution of some metals (Cd, Cr, Ni, Pb, Cu, Zn and Fe) in liver and kidney samples of Capra aegagrus hircus (goat) slaughtered in Uyo Village Road Abattoir in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria using Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometer (ICP-OES). Carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic health risks for children and adults were also estimated using Estimated Chronic Daily Intake (ECDI), Hazard Quotient (HQ) and Hazard Indices (HI) of metals in liver and kidney. Relative to unsinged samples, singed treatments generally demonstrated elevated heavy metal levels in both goat liver and the kidney. Apart from nickel, iron and zinc, the range of values obtained for all the metals in singed samples studied were above the threshold stipulated by the Food and Agricultural Organization and World Health Organization. The health risk assessment revealed Cd, Pb, Ni and Cr as potential carcinogens in the signed samples evaluated. The continuous use of these dangerous materials for singeing of goat meat for human consumption poses great risk to human health and should be discontinued.


2008 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. BMI.S564 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Massart ◽  
Giulia Gherarducci ◽  
Benedetta Marchi ◽  
Giuseppe Saggese

Human milk is, without question, the best source of nutrition for infants containing the optimal balance of fats, carbohydrates and proteins for developing babies. Breastfeeding provides a range of benefits for growth, immunity and development building a powerful bond between mother and her child. Recognition of the manifold benefits of breast milk has led to the adoption of breast-feeding policies by numerous health and professional organizations such as the World Health Organization and American Academy of Pediatrics. In industrially developed as well as in developing nations, human milk contamination by toxic chemicals such as heavy metals, dioxins and organohalogen compounds, however, is widespread and is the consequence of decades of inadequately controlled pollution. Through breastfeeding, the mother may transfer to the suckling infant potentially toxic chemicals to which the mother has previously been exposed. In the present review, environmental exposure, acquisition and current levels of old and emerging classes of breast milk pollutants are systematically presented. Although scientific evidences indicated that the advantages of breast-feeding outweigh any risks from contaminants, it is important to identify contaminant trends, to locate disproportionately exposed populations, and to take public health measures to improve chemical BM pollution as possible.


2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gesine Jendras ◽  
Mawunu Monizi ◽  
Christoph Neinhuis ◽  
Thea Lautenschläger

Abstract Background Angola has one of the highest annual under-five mortality rates in in the world and malnutrition poses a severe problem in the country. This study is the first to focus on the traditional knowledge of plants, foods, and treatments used by the local population in the province of Uíge to affect the quality and quantity of human breast milk, since decades of independence and civil war impeded ethnobotanical studies in this area. Methods This study was conducted in eight municipalities in the province of Uíge, Northern Angola in February and March 2018. In 265 semi-structured interviews, 360 informants in 40 rural villages were asked about plants, food, and treatments used to affect the quality and quantity of human breast milk. Additionally, information on child mortality and the duration of breastfeeding were collected. Whenever possible, plant specimens were collected for later identification. To determine the local importance of the collected plants, food, and treatments, the Relative Frequency of Citations was calculated. Results Most women reported to have no problems with their breast milk production. The duration of breastfeeding meets the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO). Across all use categories, 69 plants from 36 plant families, and 21 other foods and treatments could be identified. Conclusions The study shows an overview of a variety of plants, foods, and treatments used by mothers as galactagogues, to “clean” or to reduce their breast milk and those which they avoided to use during the lactation period. There is great potential for further research into this traditional knowledge. Also, further analysis of some of the plants could be of interest.


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