title: Serum bile acids and their conjugates in breast-fed infants with prolonged jaundice.
abstract: Serum bile acids and their conjugates were analysed in 20 breast-fed infants with prolonged jaundice. The mean total bile acid levels in serum were increased in the breast-fed infants with jaundice, as compared with those in either breast- or bottle-fed infants without jaundice. However, there were no significant differences between the groups. All the breast-fed infants examined, regardless of association with jaundice, had a bile acid pattern dominated by taurine conjugates (the ratio of glycine- to taurine-conjugated bile acid, G/T ratio, less than 1.00). In contrast, the bottle-fed infants without jaundice had a pattern dominated by glycine conjugates (G/T ratio, more than 1.00). Among the breast-fed infants with jaundice, the mean G/T ratio in those who had serum bilirubin levels over 10 mg/100 ml was significantly lower than that in those who had serum bilirubin levels of less than 10 mg/100 ml. The altered bile acid metabolism might be associated with the pathology of breast milk jaundice.
mesh_terms: D001647:Bile Acids and Salts / Q000097:blood*; D001942:Breast Feeding; D005998:Glycine / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007567:Jaundice, Neonatal / Q000097:blood*; D008073:Lipoprotein-X / Q000097:blood; D013654:Taurine / Q000378:metabolism*; D013997:Time Factors; D014810:Vitamin E / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D001647:Bile Acids and Salts; D008073:Lipoprotein-X; D014810:Vitamin E; D013654:Taurine; D005998:Glycine