Abstract
In this report, we present a detailed comparison of the lipid composition of human milk (HM) and formula milk (FM) targeting different lactation stages and infant age range. We studied HM samples collected from 26 Polish mothers from colostrum to 19 months of lactation, along with FM from seven brands available on the Polish market (infant formula, follow-on formula and growing-up formula). Lipid extracts were analysed using liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC–Q-TOF–MS). We found that the lipid composition of FM deviates significantly from the HM lipid profile in terms of qualitative and quantitative differences. FM had contrasting lipid profiles mostly across brands and accordingly to the type of fat added but not specific to the target age range. The individual differences were dominant in HM; however, differences according to the lactation stage were also observed, especially between colostrum and HM collected in other lactation stages. Biologically and nutritionally important lipids, such as long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAs) containing lipid species, sphingomyelines or ether analogues of glycerophosphoethanoloamines were detected in HM collected in all studied lactation stages. The observed differences concerned all the major HM lipid classes and highlight the importance of the detailed compositional studies of both HM and FM.
Highlights
Human milk (HM) is considered an optimal source of nutrients and bioactive compounds for new-borns [1]
The exemplary Total Ion Chromatograms (TICs) of the lipid extracts of the HM and formula milk (FM) samples, along with the identity of the most abundant lipid are presented in Figure S2 in the Supplementary Materials Section
We considered colostrum and HM samples collected in the period of 0–6 months separately to evaluate in detail the differences between HM samples obtained in this lactation stage and starting FM, because infants who cannot be breastfed directly after birth with colostrum are fed with FM dedicated for infants in age range 0–6 months
Summary
Human milk (HM) is considered an optimal source of nutrients and bioactive compounds for new-borns [1]. Human milk contains 3–5% (w/v) fat that provides 40–50% of total energy and essential fatty acids for infants [2]. The HM lipid fraction contains glycerolipids, such as triacylglycerol (TG), diacylglycerol (DG), monoacylglycerol (MG), glycerophospholipids (GP), sphingolipids (SP), sterols (ST) and free fatty acids. The highly abundant triacylglycerol (TG, 98% of total lipids), which has a specific fatty acid composition and structure, is a major source of energy and a core of the milk fat globule (MFG). Phospholipids (PLs) are low-abundant HM components (0.5–1% of total lipids) but not of less importance. Phospholipids, namely glycerophospholipids (GP), sphingolipids (SP), and gangliosides, form the milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) [4]; they are positively associated with neurological and cognitive development, immunological system modulation and the antimicrobial properties of human milk [5]
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