Relationship between Fatty Acids Composition/Antioxidant Potential of Breast Milk and Maternal Diet: Comparison with Infant Formulas

The fatty acid composition of human breast milk is relevant for the energy, immunity and eicosanoid production in infants. Additionally, the antioxidant properties of foods are essential for human health. Therefore, in the present study we aimed to investigate the relationship between maternal diet and fatty acids composition as well as the antioxidant potential of breast milk from donors to human milk bank of Perugia’s hospital, Italy. Results were compared with infant formulas. We observed increased levels of total fatty acids and, in particular, saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids in milk from mothers fed on a vegetable and fruit-rich diet compared with a Mediterranean diet. In the same milk, a reduced antioxidant potential was found. All infant formulas resulted in richer total fatty acid content than human breast milk. Only some formulas were qualitatively similar to breast milk. Of note, the antioxidant potential of the formulas was higher or lower than the human milk with the exception of one sample. The antioxidant potential of four formulas was very high. Dietary supplementation with antioxidants has been shown to have a teratogenic effect and to increase the formation of metastases in adult. There are no data on the effects of excess antioxidants in the infants, but the possibility that they can be harmful cannot be excluded.

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Dietary Fatty Acids and Host–Microbial Crosstalk in Neonatal Enteric Infection

Nutrients ◽

10.3390/nu11092064 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (9) ◽

pp. 2064 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Candice Quin ◽

Deanna L. Gibson

Keyword(s):

Fatty Acids ◽

Fatty Acid Composition ◽

Fatty Acid ◽

Breast Milk ◽

Acid Composition ◽

Disease Susceptibility ◽

Dietary Fatty Acids ◽

Enteric Infection ◽

Human Breast Milk ◽

Human Breast

Human milk is the best nutritional choice for infants. However, in instances where breastfeeding is not possible, infant formulas are used as alternatives. While formula manufacturers attempt to mimic the performance of human breast milk, formula-fed babies consistently have higher incidences of infection from diarrheal diseases than those breastfed. Differences in disease susceptibility, progression and severity can be attributed, in part, to nutritional fatty acid differences between breast milk and formula. Despite advances in our understanding of breast milk properties, formulas still present major differences in their fatty acid composition when compared to human breast milk. In this review, we highlight the role of distinct types of dietary fatty acids in modulating host inflammation, both directly and through the microbiome-immune nexus. We present evidence that dietary fatty acids influence enteric disease susceptibility and therefore, altering the fatty acid composition in formula may be a potential strategy to improve infectious outcomes in formula-fed infants.

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Association of DHA Concentration in Human Breast Milk with Maternal Diet and Use of Supplements: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Data from the Japanese Human Milk Study Cohort

Current Developments in Nutrition ◽

10.1093/cdn/nzaa105 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (7) ◽

Author(s):

Hiroshi M Ueno ◽

Satoshi Higurashi ◽

Yuzuka Shimomura ◽

Ryota Wakui ◽

Hiroaki Matsuura ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Breast Milk ◽

Human Milk ◽

Maternal Diet ◽

Sociodemographic Factors ◽

Dietary Habit ◽

Study Cohort ◽

Human Breast Milk ◽

Human Breast ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Infant Birth

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.

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Breast Milk Lipids and Fatty Acids in Regulating Neonatal Intestinal Development and Protecting against Intestinal Injury

Nutrients ◽

10.3390/nu12020534 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (2) ◽

pp. 534 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

David Ramiro-Cortijo ◽

Pratibha Singh ◽

Yan Liu ◽

Esli Medina-Morales ◽

William Yakah ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Fatty Acids ◽

Breast Milk ◽

Human Milk ◽

Preterm Infants ◽

Gastrointestinal Disease ◽

Essential Fatty Acids ◽

Intestinal Injury ◽

Human Breast Milk ◽

Intestinal Development ◽

Human Breast

Human breast milk is the optimal source of nutrition for infant growth and development. Breast milk fats and their downstream derivatives of fatty acids and fatty acid-derived terminal mediators not only provide an energy source but also are important regulators of development, immune function, and metabolism. The composition of the lipids and fatty acids determines the nutritional and physicochemical properties of human milk fat. Essential fatty acids, including long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFAs) and specialized pro-resolving mediators, are critical for growth, organogenesis, and regulation of inflammation. Combined data including in vitro, in vivo, and human cohort studies support the beneficial effects of human breast milk in intestinal development and in reducing the risk of intestinal injury. Human milk has been shown to reduce the occurrence of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), a common gastrointestinal disease in preterm infants. Preterm infants fed human breast milk are less likely to develop NEC compared to preterm infants receiving infant formula. Intestinal development and its physiological functions are highly adaptive to changes in nutritional status influencing the susceptibility towards intestinal injury in response to pathological challenges. In this review, we focus on lipids and fatty acids present in breast milk and their impact on neonatal gut development and the risk of disease.

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Human breast milk as source of sphingolipids for newborns: comparison with infant formulas and commercial cow’s milk

Journal of Translational Medicine ◽

10.1186/s12967-020-02641-0 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 18 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Michele Dei Cas ◽

Rita Paroni ◽

Paola Signorelli ◽

Alessandra Mirarchi ◽

Laura Cerquiglini ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Breast Milk ◽

Maternal Diet ◽

Bioactive Molecules ◽

Human Breast Milk ◽

Infant Formulas ◽

Human Breast ◽

Ceramide Content ◽

Vegetarian Diets ◽

Species Specific ◽

The Brain

Abstract Background In the past two decades, sphingolipids have become increasingly appreciated as bioactive molecules playing important roles in a wide array of pathophysiology mechanisms. Despite advances in the field, sphingolipids as nutrients remain little explored. Today the research is starting to move towards the study of the sphingomyelin content in human breast milk, recommended for feeding infants. Methods In the present study, we performed a lipidomic analysis in human breast milk in relation with maternal diet during pregnancy, in infant formulas, and in commercial whole and semi-skimmed milks for adults. Mediterranean, carnivorous and vegetarian diets were considered. Results The results showed that total sphingomyelin, ceramide and dihydroceramide species are independent on the diet. Interestingly, the milk sphingolipid composition is species-specific. In fact, infant formulas and commercial milks for adults have a lower level of total sphingomyelin and ceramide content than human breast milk with very different composition of each sphingolipid species. Conclusions We conclude that human breast milk is a better source of sphingolipids than infant formulas for baby nutrition with potential implications for the brain development and cognitive functions.

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Human Breast Milk Contains Bovine lgG. Relationship to Infant Colic?

PEDIATRICS ◽

10.1542/peds.87.4.439 ◽

1991 ◽

Vol 87 (4) ◽

pp. 439-444

Author(s):

Patrick S. Clyne ◽

Anthony Kulczycki

Keyword(s):

Breast Milk ◽

Human Milk ◽

Milk Protein ◽

Cow’S Milk ◽

Human Breast Milk ◽

Human Breast ◽

Cow's Milk ◽

Milk Samples ◽

Infant Colic ◽

Β Lactoglobulin

Previous studies have suggested that an unidentified cow's milk protein, other than β-lactoglobulin and casein, might play a pathogenetic role in infant colic. Therefore, a radioimmunoassay was used to analyze human breast milk and infant formula samples for the presence of bovine IgG. Milk samples from 88 of the 97 mothers tested contained greater than 0.1 µg/mL of bovine IgG. In a study group of 59 mothers with infants in the colic-prone 2- to 17-week age group, the 29 mothers of colicky infants had higher levels of bovine IgG in their breast milk (median 0.42 µg/mL) than the 30 mothers of noncolicky infants (median 0.32 µg/mL) (P < .02). The highest concentrations of bovine IgG observed in human milk were 8.5 and 8.2 µg/mL. Most cow's milk-based infant formulas contained 0.6 to 6.4 µg/mL of bovine IgG, a concentration comparable with levels found in many human milk samples. The results suggest that appreciable quantities of bovine IgG are commonly present in human milk, that significantly higher levels are present in milk from mothers of colicky infants, and that bovine IgG may possibly be involved in the pathogenesis of infant colic.

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The impact of lactation and gestational age on the composition of branched-chain fatty acids in human breast milk

Food & Function ◽

10.1039/c7fo01979c ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 9 (3) ◽

pp. 1747-1754 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Liang Jie ◽

Ce Qi ◽

Jin Sun ◽

Renqiang Yu ◽

Xiangyu Wang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Fatty Acids ◽

Breast Milk ◽

Gestational Age ◽

Human Breast Milk ◽

Human Breast ◽

Branched Chain Fatty Acids ◽

Branched Chain ◽

The Impact ◽

Chain Fatty Acids

The main BCFAs in preterm breast milk were iso-14:0, iso-15:0, anteiso-15:0, iso-16:0, iso-17:0, and anteiso-17:0, which were low than that in term breast milk. They were mainly located in the sn-2 position of TAGs and concentration in colostrum.

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Exposure to a Farm Environment During Pregnancy Increases the Proportion of Arachidonic Acid in the Cord Sera of Offspring

Nutrients ◽

10.3390/nu11020238 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 238 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Malin Barman ◽

Karin Jonsson ◽

Agnes E. Wold ◽

Ann-Sofie Sandberg

Keyword(s):

Fatty Acids ◽

Arachidonic Acid ◽

Fatty Acid Composition ◽

Fatty Acid ◽

Breast Milk ◽

Acid Composition ◽

Post Partum ◽

Maternal Diet ◽

Circulation System ◽

Adrenic Acid

Growing up in a farm environment is protective against allergy development. Various explanations have been put forward to explain this association. Fatty acids are regulators of immune function and the composition of fatty acids in the circulation system may affect immune development. Here, we investigate whether the fatty acid composition of cord serum differs for infants born to Farm (n = 26) or non-Farm mothers (n =29) in the FARMFLORA birth-cohort. For comparison, the levels of fatty acids in the maternal diet, serum and breast milk around 1 month post-partum were recorded. The fatty acids in the cord sera from infants born to Farm mothers had higher proportions of arachidonic acid (20:4 n-6) and adrenic acid (22:4 n-6) than those from infants born to non-Farm mothers. No differences were found for either arachidonic acid or adrenic acid in the diet, samples of the serum, or breast milk from Farm and non-Farm mothers obtained around 1 month post-partum. The arachidonic and adrenic acid levels in the cord blood were unrelated to allergy outcome for the infants. The results suggest that a farm environment may be associated with the fatty acid composition to which the fetus is exposed during pregnancy.

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Detectable Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in Human Breast Milk of a Mildly Symptomatic Patient With Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

Clinical Infectious Diseases ◽

10.1093/cid/ciaa673 ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

Patrick C K Tam ◽

Kathleen M Ly ◽

Max L Kernich ◽

Nicola Spurrier ◽

Diana Lawrence ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Case Report ◽

Breast Milk ◽

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ◽

Human Milk ◽

Symptomatic Patient ◽

Clinical Samples ◽

Human Breast Milk ◽

Causative Pathogen ◽

Human Breast ◽

Novel Coronavirus

Abstract SARS-CoV-2 is a novel coronavirus and causative pathogen to the pandemic illness COVID-19. Although RNA has been detected in various clinical samples, no reports to date have documented SARS-CoV-2 in human milk. This case report describes an actively breastfeeding patient with COVID-19 infection with detectable viral RNA in human milk.

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Influence of sulfonated and diet-derived human milk oligosaccharides on the infant microbiome and immune markers

Journal of Biological Chemistry ◽

10.1074/jbc.ra119.011351 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 295 (12) ◽

pp. 4035-4048 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Candice Quin ◽

Sara D. Vicaretti ◽

Nina A Mohtarudin ◽

Alexander M. Garner ◽

Deanna M. Vollman ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Fatty Acids ◽

Breast Milk ◽

Human Milk ◽

Unsaturated Fatty Acids ◽

Maternal Diet ◽

Intestinal Microbiome ◽

Human Milk Oligosaccharides ◽

Immune Markers ◽

Milk Oligosaccharides ◽

Milk Fatty Acids

Human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) promote the development of the neonatal intestinal, immune, and nervous systems and has recently received considerable attention. Here we investigated how the maternal diet affects HMO biosynthesis and how any diet-induced HMO alterations influence the infant gut microbiome and immunity. Using capillary electrophoresis and MS-based analyses, we extracted and measured HMOs from breast milk samples and then correlated their levels with results from validated 24-h diet recall surveys and breast milk fatty acids. We found that fruit intake and unsaturated fatty acids in breast milk were positively correlated with an increased absolute abundance of numerous HMOs, including 16 sulfonated HMOs we identified here in humans for the first time. The diet-derived monosaccharide 5-N-glycolyl-neuraminic acid (Neu5Gc) was unambiguously detected in all samples. To gain insights into the potential impact of Neu5Gc on the infant microbiome, we used a constrained ordination approach and identified correlations between Neu5Gc levels and Bacteroides spp. in infant stool. However, Neu5Gc was not associated with marked changes in infant immune markers, in contrast with sulfonated HMOs, whose expression correlated with suppression of two major Th2 cytokines, IL-10 and IL-13. The findings of our work highlight the importance of maternal diet for HMO biosynthesis and provide as yet unexplored targets for future studies investigating interactions between HMOs and the intestinal microbiome and immunity in infants.

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