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The total amino acid profile of human milk is stable over the first three months of lactation
Author(s) -
McMahon Robert Joseph,
Gray Michael,
Adelman Alicia,
Herbers Patricia,
Woo Jessica,
Morrow Ardythe
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.26.1_supplement.624.1
Subject(s) - lactation , amino acid , zoology , cohort , amino acid residue , chemistry , nitrogen , endocrinology , medicine , biology , biochemistry , peptide sequence , pregnancy , organic chemistry , genetics , gene
The amount and composition of human milk protein is thought to be critical in the development of breastfed infants. While the amino acid profile of human milk has been previously reported, there have been methodological advances which may result in more accurate amino acid determinations, and we are interested in the variability of the protein level and amino acid profile between mothers and over the course of lactation in rigorously collected samples. Here we report total nitrogen, as assessed by the Dumas method, as well as the protein associated amino acid profile over the course of the first three months of lactation (5 time points) in a cohort of 10 mothers in the US. Total nitrogen decreased by about half over the first three months of lactation (p<0.001) and exhibited inter‐individual variation early on, while the amino acid profile, expressed as each amino acid in proportion to the total amino acids, remained remarkably consistent both between mothers as well as over time. Supported by Mead Johnson Nutrition and NIH HD 13021.