Acid Composition Of Mature Milk Research Articles

Composition in fatty acids of mature milk of nursing mothers

Abstract Objectives: to determine the fatty acid composition of mature milk of nursing mothers and its distribution according to some maternal variables. Methods: this is a cross-sectional observational epidemiological study based on the eva-luation of the fatty acid profile of mature human milk. Samples of mature breast milk were taken from 106 nursing mothers, by manual milking and who were after the 5th postpartum week. The milk fat extraction was carried out by using the Bligh and Dyer method and methy-lated with 0.25 mol/L sodium methoxide in methanol diethyl ether. The fatty acid of the milk profile was determined by a Gas Chromatograph equipped with a flame ionization detector. Results: among the saturated fatty acids, the highest values were observed for palmitic (C16:0), stearic (C18:0), myristic (C14:0) and lauric (C12:0) fatty acids, respectively. Among the monounsaturated fatty acids, there was a higher contribution of oleic (C18:1) and palmi-toleic (C16:1) fatty acids, respectively. The total essential fatty acids (linoleic and α-linolenic) was 14.94%. Conclusions: a low content of essential fatty acids in the breast milk of the nursing mothers was observed in the present study, which are important for infant growth and deve-lopment. We suggest the need to implement nutrition education strategies aimed for pregnant women and nursing mothers who should be advised to eat healthier foods.

Fatty acid composition of mature breast milk in Brazilian women

This work analyzed the fatty acid composition of mature milk samples, weekly obtained from eight Brazilian women between the 4th and 13th lactation weeks. A questionnaire was weekly applied to observe their eating habits. Saturated fatty acids constituted 39.7% of the total fatty acids. De novo fatty acids and long chain saturated fatty acids presented levels of 15.9% and 23.8%, respectively. trans-Fatty acid content was very low (2.36%). Unsaturated fatty acids constituted 50.9% of the total fatty acids, with over half being monounsaturated fatty acids (27.6%). Polyunsaturated fatty acids showed levels of 23.3%, with high linoleic and α-linolenic acid contents (20.3% and 1.43%, respectively). Arachidonic acid had a content of 0.53%, while docosahexaenoic acid content was 0.14%, values considered adequate for the needs of breast-fed infants.