title: Breast milk fatty acid composition of women living far from the coastal area in Brazil.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the fatty acid composition of mature human milk of women living far from the coastal area of Brazil.
  
  
  METHODS
  Mature breast milk samples were obtained from 47 lactating women aged between 18 and 35 years, who delivered their babies at term and who exclusively or predominantly breastfed. Milk collection took place after the fifth week postpartum by hand expression. The fatty acid composition of the milk was determined by gas chromatography.
  
  
  RESULTS
  It was observed that the concentration of eicosapentaenoic acid (0.08%) was higher than that observed in previous studies in Brazil. However, the content of docosahexaenoic acid (0.09%) found in human milk was one of the lowest verified in the world. The content of trans fatty acids (2.05%) was similar to that reported in national studies previous to the mandatory declaration of this fatty acid content in food labels, suggesting that this measure had no effect on reducing the content of this fatty acid in the usual diet of women.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Low levels of docosahexaenoic acid and high concentrations of trans fatty acids were observed in mature breast milk of women living far from the coastal area in Brazil.
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto (FMRP), Universidade de São Paulo (USP), São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Renata Y
authors.initials: RY
authors.lastname: Nishimura
authors.forename: Gabriela S F de
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Castro
authors.forename: Alceu A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Jordão
authors.forename: Daniela S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Sartorelli
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001938:Brazil; D004041:Dietary Fats / Q000032:analysis; D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids / Q000032:analysis; D015118:Eicosapentaenoic Acid / Q000032:analysis; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007774:Lactation / Q000502:physiology; D008895:Milk, Human / Q000737:chemistry*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D044242:Trans Fatty Acids / Q000032:analysis; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D004041:Dietary Fats; D005227:Fatty Acids; D044242:Trans Fatty Acids; D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids; D015118:Eicosapentaenoic Acid