Abstract
The fatty acids (FAs) of human milk (HM) are the building blocks of the HM lipidome, contributing to infant health and development; however, this has not been comprehensively characterised with respect to infant intake. Eighteen Western Australian mother–infant dyads provided monthly longitudinal HM samples during six months of exclusive breastfeeding. Monthly anthropometric measurements, health data and basic maternal food frequency data were also collected. At three months, infant 24 h milk intake and total lipid intake were measured. The FA profile was analysed using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Linear regression and Pearson’s correlation were used to identify associations between HM FA composition, HM FA intake, maternal characteristics and infant growth and developmental outcomes. Mean infant intake of total lipids was 29.7 ± 9.4 g/day. HM FA composition exhibited wide variation between dyads and throughout lactation. Infant intake of a number of FAs, including C15:0, C18:1, C18:2 and C20:3, was positively related to infant growth (all p < 0.001). There were no relationships detected between C22:5 and C20:5 and infant head circumference. Infant total lipid intake and the infant intake of many FAs play essential roles in infant growth and development. This study highlights the important relationships of many HM FAs not previously described, including C15:0 and C18:2 species. Infant outcomes should be considered in the context of intake in future HM studies.
Highlights
The composition and role of fatty acids (FAs) in human milk (HM) has been investigated and described for over 60 years [1]
Whilst the majority of saturated FAs up to C16:0 are synthesised in the mammary gland from acetyl-CoA and malonyl-CoA, using synthetase and thioesterase enzymes, wide percent variation still existed between dyads, including for C12:0 (0.2–8.7% total FA), C14:0 (1.8–11.4% total FA) and C16:0 (13.1–27.8% total FA), all consistent with previous studies [6,7]
Regardless, many of the relationships we identified between infant growth and FA intake remained after Benjamini–Hochberg adjustment
Summary
The composition and role of fatty acids (FAs) in human milk (HM) has been investigated and described for over 60 years [1]. The FAs within HM are well known to be influenced by maternal diet, for example, maternal fish intake is associated with docosahexaenoic acid (C22:6) abundance in HM [4]. Both long- and short-term dietary habits have been previously shown to influence maternal milk FA composition [5]. A number of other maternal factors have been shown to influence the HM FA composition, including, but not limited to, BMI and genetic variants of FA desaturase (FADS) genes [6,7]
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