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Comparative Study
. 2019 Jan 8;11(1):112.
doi: 10.3390/nu11010112.

Temporal Progression of Fatty Acids in Preterm and Term Human Milk of Mothers from Switzerland

Sagar K Thakkar  1 , Carlos Antonio De Castro  2 , Lydie Beauport  3 , Jean-François Tolsa  4 , Céline J Fischer Fumeaux  5 , Michael Affolter  6 , Francesca Giuffrida  7
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Temporal Progression of Fatty Acids in Preterm and Term Human Milk of Mothers from Switzerland

Sagar K Thakkar et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

We longitudinally compared fatty acids (FA) from human milk (HM) of mothers delivering term and preterm infants. HM was collected for 4 months postpartum at 12 time points for preterm and for 2 months postpartum at 8 time points for term group. Samples were collected from the first feed of the morning, and single breast was fully expressed. FA were analyzed by gas chromatography coupled with flame ionization detector. Oleic, palmitic and linoleic acids were the most abundant FA across lactation and in both groups. Preterm colostrum contained significantly (p < 0.05) higher 8:0, 10:0, 12:0, sum medium chain fatty acids (MCFA), 18:3 n-3 FA compared to term counterparts. Preterm mature milk contained significantly higher 12:0, 14:0, 18:2 n-6, sum saturated fatty acids (SFA), and sum MCFA. We did not observe any significant differences between the preterm and term groups for docosahexaenoic acid, arachidonic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid at any stage of lactation. Overall, preterm milk was higher for SFA with a major contribution from MCFA and higher in 18:2 n-6. These observational differences needs to be studied further for their implications on preterm developmental outcomes and on fortification strategies of either mothers' own milk or donor human milk.

Keywords: arachidonic acid (ARA); docosahexaenoic acid (DHA); donor human milk; eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA); fatty acids; human milk; human milk fortification; infants; lipids; mothers’ own milk; preterm; term.

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Conflict of interest statement

S.K.T., M.A., C.A.D.C., and F.G. are all employees of Nestec Ltd. L.B., J.-F.T., and C.J.F.F. declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Study flow chart.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Total lipids content (g/100 mL) in colostrum, transitional and mature milk in preterm and term groups.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Capric (10:0, left panel) and lauric (12:0, right panel) acids in colostrum, transitional and mature milk in preterm and term groups. The results are expressed as percentages (g/100 g sum of FA).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Palmitic (16:0, left panel) and oleic (18:1 n-9, right panel) acids in colostrum, transitional and mature milk in preterm and term. The results are expressed as percentages (g/100 g sum of FA).
Figure 5
Figure 5
Arachidonic acid (ARA) (20:4 n-6, top panel) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) (22:6 n-3, bottom panel) acids in colostrum, transitional and mature milk in preterm and term. The results are expressed as percentages (g/100 g sum of FA).
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