Abstract
Feeding choices in the early months of life are key determinants of growth during infancy. Polyamines participate in cell proliferation and differentiation, and it has also been suggested that polyamine metabolism plays a role in adipogenesis. As the main exogenous source of polyamines in the infant is human milk, the aim of this work was to study if the type of breastfeeding received and the polyamine intake from human milk has an influence on infant anthropometric parameters. A cohort of 78 full-term healthy newborns was followed up until 4 months of age; 55 were fully and 23 partially breastfed. Anthropometric measurements were taken at 2 and 4 months, when human milk samples were also collected for analysis of polyamine content by UHPLC-FL. Fully breastfed infants had a better anthropometric profile than those partially breastfed (p < 0.05). Furthermore, polyamine intake in partially breastfed infants was significantly lower compared to those fully breastfed. However, only two of the 15 anthropometric indicators evaluated (triceps skinfold and mean upper arm circumference) showed a significant inverse association with polyamine content in human milk and intake (p < 0.05). Infant growth and body composition differ according to the type of breastfeeding received. Based on the weak associations between polyamines and anthropometric indicators, it is not possible to conclude the influence of polyamines in infant growth and body composition.
Highlights
Besides determining infant growth, the feeding choices in the first months of life have a long-term health outcome, especially in the prevention of childhood obesity [1,2,3]
Bearing in mind the strong impact of early nutrition on development, as well as the importance of polyamines and their hypothetical involvement in adipogenesis, the aim of this work was to study whether the type of breastfeeding received and the polyamine intake from human milk has an influence on infant anthropometric parameters
Slightly lower values were found in the milk of mothers practicing full breastfeeding, the differences were statistically significant only for putrescine and spermine at 2 months (p < 0.05)
Summary
The feeding choices in the first months of life have a long-term health outcome, especially in the prevention of childhood obesity [1,2,3]. Studies in mice report that overexpression of the SSAT enzyme caused a decrease in white adipose tissue [18, 19], and the administration of spermidine or spermine reduced body weight and fat mass, in a dose-dependent manner [20,21,22]. As these results were obtained in animal models with induced obesity, they cannot be extrapolated to healthy infants
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