Comparative study of phospholipid content in breast milk of mothers at preterm and term babies

Abstract

Phospholipids play important roles in cell membrane integrity, neural and brain development, and inflammatory responses. Phospholipids are also important for the growth of infants and the neurological development and the neurological disorders.The aim of the present study was to determine and compare phospholipid content in breast milk of mothers at preterm and term babies.The present study was a hospital- based comparative and analytical study. The study was conducted over a period of 1 year on 60 samples. The study group comprised a total 60 individuals in which breast milk of mothers of preterm babies comprised of 30 individuals and breast milk of mothers of term babies comprised of 30 individuals. The phospholipid content were qualitatively analyzed by the Thin Layer Chromatography and quantitatively analyzed by the method of Connerty.The results of the present study show that, the Mean±SD of the total phospholipid content (mg/dl) in breast milk of mothers of preterm babies was 84.44±10.45 mg/dl and the Mean±SD of the total phospholipid content (mg/dl) in breast milk of mothers of term babies was 45.1±7.15 mg/dl. The results of the present study indicate that the difference between the preterm and term babies was found to be significant statistically (p=<0.0001). The present study concluded that phospholipids content was significantly higher in breast milk of mothers in preterm babies as compared to term babies. Difference in composition of individual phospholipid may contribute to difference in rf values of individual phospholipids in breast milk of mothers of term and preterm babies.