Assessment of Maternal Macular Pigment Optical Density (MPOD) as a Potential Marker for Dietary Carotenoid Intake during Lactation in Humans.

Ateka Al-Hassan,Michaela Sisitsky,Brad P Sutton,Rutvi Vyas,Patricia Ellen Grant,Borjan Gagoski,Yangming Ou,Yue Zhang,John B Lasekan,Sarah U Morton,Matthew J Kuchan,Ryan J Larsen,Jonathan S Litt

doi:10.3390/nu14010182

Abstract

Pregnancy and lactation can change the maternal nutrient reserve. Non-invasive, quantitative markers of maternal nutrient intake could enable personalized dietary recommendations that improve health outcomes in mothers and infants. Macular pigment optical density (MPOD) is a candidate marker, as MPOD values generally reflect carotenoid intake. We evaluated the association of MPOD with dietary and breastmilk carotenoids in postpartum women. MPOD measurements and dietary intake of five carotenoids were obtained from 80 mothers in the first three months postpartum. Breastmilk samples from a subset of mothers were analyzed to determine their nutrient composition. The association between MPOD and dietary or breastmilk carotenoids was quantitatively assessed to better understand the availability and mobilization of carotenoids. Our results showed that dietary α-carotene was positively correlated with MPOD. Of the breastmilk carotenoids, 13-cis-lutein and trans-lutein were correlated with MPOD when controlled for the total lutein in breastmilk. Other carotenoids in breastmilk were not associated with MPOD. Maternal MPOD is positively correlated with dietary intake of α-carotene in the early postpartum period, as well as with the breastmilk content of lutein. MPOD may serve as a potential marker for the intake of carotenoids, especially α-carotene, in mothers in the early postpartum period.

Highlights

Breastmilk is the recommended diet for infants, and the maternal nutrient status during lactation can affect the nutrient content of breastmilk [1,2]
This study aimed to identify whether maternal Macular pigment optical density (MPOD) reflects maternal dietary carotenoid intake and carotenoid concentrations in breastmilk during the postpartum period, which has rarely been studied
Clinical documentation of MPOD as a quantitative, non-invasive marker for maternal dietary carotenoids and levels in breastmilk could help establish recommendations for carotenoids, which are important for health and neurode

Summary

Introduction

Breastmilk is the recommended diet for infants, and the maternal nutrient status during lactation can affect the nutrient content of breastmilk [1,2]. Carotenoids function as antioxidants, and three of them (β-carotene, lycopene, and β-cryptoxanthin) can serve as precursors of vitamin A and influence retinoid signaling levels [9]. They have been shown to play a role in early visual and cognitive development and are primarily obtained from the mother during pregnancy or later from breastmilk [10]. Non-invasive quantitative markers for maternal intake of nutrients such as carotenoids would be useful to identify dietary factors that affect maternal nutrient status during pregnancy and lactation, and in the future could provide an opportunity for individualized nutritional recommendations

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