Abstract
Breastfeeding is the best way to feed an infant, although it can also be a source of abiotic contaminants such as heavy metals or bisphenol A (BPA). The early life exposure to these compounds can lead to serious toxic effects in both the short and long-term. These substances can reach breast milk through the mother’s habits, diet being one of the main routes of exposure. The aim of the present work was to analyse possible associations between the dietary habits of women and the content of major trace elements, BPA, fatty acids and lipids, and the microbiological and immunological profiles of human milk. Possible associations between major trace elements and BPA and the lipid, microbiological and immunological profiles were also analysed. The results of this study support that the microbiological composition of human milk is associated with the dietary habits of the women, and that the consumption of canned drinks is related to the presence of BPA in human milk. Furthermore, some relationships were found between the amount of major trace elements and the microbiological and immunological profile of the milk samples. Finally, the presence of BPA was associated with changes in the immunological profile of human milk.
Highlights
Breastfeeding is the ideal infant feeding option [1,2,3]
Microbiological characterization of milk samples using culture-dependent methods indicated that bacterial growth was observed in 47 of the 48 samples analysed (Supplementary Table S1)
Breastfeeding is unanimously recognized as the best infant feeding method in terms of health risk-benefit and independently of the mother and infant circumstances, which can include living in highly polluted environments [32,33]
Summary
Breastfeeding is the ideal infant feeding option [1,2,3]. it can act as a source of abiotic contaminants, such as heavy metals or bisphenol A (BPA) [4,5,6,7]. The toxic properties of some metallic and metalloid elements, such as mercury (Hg), lead (Pb) or cadmium (Cd), include neurotoxic effects, preterm birth or intrauterine growth retardation. They can act as mutagenic and carcinogenic agents or endocrine disruptors [9,10]. Tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) is another chemical of concern, which has a widespread use as flame retardant This persistent environmental chemical accumulates in the body and the human milk acts as a vehicle from the mother to the infant [11,12]. The exposure to TBBPA during early infant development may contribute to the increasing incidence of disorders such as infertility, genital tract abnormalities, obesity, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and prostate and breast cancer later in life [13,14,15]
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