title: Free amino acid content in breast milk of adolescent and adult mothers in Ecuador.
abstract: Because of increased incidence of teenage births and high prevalence of lactation in Latin America, we determined the patterning of free amino acids (FAAs) in breast milk of 65 primiparous Ecuadorian women of varying ages (14-27 years). An automatic amino acid analyzer quantified levels of FAAs in milk samples obtained at three lactation stages: colostrum, transition, and mature milk. Regardless of mother's age, most FAAs increased with time postpartum, with taurine, glutamic acid, glutamine, and alanine being most abundant in all stages.
authors.affiliation: Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de las Américas, Quito, Ecuador.
authors.forename: Manuel E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Baldeón
authors.affiliation: Monell Chemical Senses Center, 3500 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104-3308 USA.
authors.forename: Julie A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Mennella
authors.affiliation: Colegio de Agricultura Alimentos y Nutrición, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Quito, Ecuador.
authors.forename: Nancy
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Flores
authors.affiliation: Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de las Américas, Quito, Ecuador.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fornasini
authors.affiliation: Ajinomoto Co., Inc, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: San Gabriel
keywords: Free amino acids; Glutamate; Glutamine; Human milk; Lactation