Abstract
Milk and dairy products are an important source of choline, a nutrient essential for human health. Infant formula derived from bovine milk contains a number of metabolic forms of choline, all contribute to the growth and development of the newborn. At present, little is known about the factors that influence the concentrations of choline metabolites in milk. The objectives of this study were to characterize and then evaluate associations for choline and its metabolites in blood and milk through the first 37 weeks of lactation in the dairy cow. Milk and blood samples from twelve Holstein cows were collected in early, mid and late lactation and analyzed for acetylcholine, free choline, betaine, glycerophosphocholine, lysophosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylcholine, phosphocholine and sphingomyelin using hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, and quantified using stable isotope-labeled internal standards. Total choline concentration in plasma, which was almost entirely phosphatidylcholine, increased 10-times from early to late lactation (1305 to 13,535 µmol/L). In milk, phosphocholine was the main metabolite in early lactation (492 µmol/L), which is a similar concentration to that found in human milk, however, phosphocholine concentration decreased exponentially through lactation to 43 µmol/L in late lactation. In contrast, phosphatidylcholine was the main metabolite in mid and late lactation (188 µmol/L and 659 µmol/L, respectively), with the increase through lactation positively correlated with phosphatidylcholine in plasma (R 2 = 0.78). Unlike previously reported with human milk we found no correlation between plasma free choline concentration and milk choline metabolites. The changes in pattern of phosphocholine and phosphatidylcholine in milk through lactation observed in the bovine suggests that it is possible to manufacture infant formula that more closely matches these metabolites profile in human milk.
Highlights
Choline is found in various forms in humans and animals [1,2] (Figure 1)
Choline can be obtained from the diet [7] and from endogenous biosynthesis that predominantly occurs in the liver via the phosphatidylethanolamine N-methyltransferase (PEMT) pathway [8]
Milk and dairy products derived from the bovine are a rich source of choline for the human diet; ; little is known about how choline varies in milk during lactation in the dairy cow
Summary
Choline is found in various forms in humans and animals [1,2] (Figure 1). The water-soluble choline metabolites include acetylcholine (ACho), an important neurotransmitter for brain and neuromuscular function [1], betaine (Bet), an oxidative intermediate of choline which supplies a methyl group for the conversion of homocysteine to methionine [3], and glycerophosphocholine (GPCho), which like Bet acts as an organic osmolyte in cells [4]. Choline can be obtained from the diet [7] and from endogenous biosynthesis that predominantly occurs in the liver via the phosphatidylethanolamine N-methyltransferase (PEMT) pathway [8]. The PEMT pathway represents an important source of choline [3], dietary intake of choline is necessary because the pathway supplies insufficient choline moiety to maintain the normal function of cells, tissues and organs [7,8]. 80%) by rumen bacteria [9,10] and endogenous synthesis via the PEMT pathway represents a critical source of choline [11]. For the lactating dairy cow, the periparturient period is characterized by a high incidence of fatty liver disease and supplementation of rumen-protected choline has been found to reduce the extent of hepatic fatty infiltration and increase expression of genes involved in VLDL transport [12,13]
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