The chemical composition of human milk from Inner Mongolia of China

• Published in: Food chemistry 2011-08, Vol.127 (3), p.1193-1198
• Main Authors: Shi, Yu-dong, Sun, Guo-qing, Zhang, Zhi-guo, Deng, Xin, Kang, Xiao-hong, Liu, Zhen-dong, Ma, Ying, Sheng, Qing-hai
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Chemical composition; Colostrum; Food industries; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Human milk; Mature milk; Mother. Fetoplacental unit. Mammary gland. Milk; Pregnancy. Parturition. Lactation; Transitional milk; Vertebrates: reproduction
• ISSN: 0308-8146; 1873-7072
• DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2011.01.123

► Design of infant formula mainly depends on the composition of human milk. ► Composition of human milk varies within lactation and in each individual. ► Some compositions differ from reference values of other countries. ► The contents were affected by the maternal diet. In Inner Mongolia, China, the chemical composition of 66 breast milk samples at three lactation stages was analysed. Except for total nitrogen content, the contents of total solid, fat, NPN, lactose and ash were not significantly different between colostral, transitional and mature milk. Fatty acids did not vary over the three lactation stages, while unsaturated fatty acids accounted for 59.95–63.22% of the total fatty acids. Relatively low contents of vitamins were in the milk because the volunteer mothers did not take any vitamin supplementation over the entire lactation period. Besides sodium and phosphate, the concentrations of most minerals in the breast milk remained fairly constant across the three lactation stages.