Detection of Volatile Metabolites of Garlic in Human Breast Milk.
The odor of human breast milk after ingestion of raw garlic at food-relevant concentrations by breastfeeding mothers was investigated for the first time chemo-analytically using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry/olfactometry (GC-MS/O), as well as sensorially using a trained human sensory panel. Sensory evaluation revealed a clear garlic/cabbage-like odor that appeared in breast milk about 2.5 h after consumption of garlic. GC-MS/O analyses confirmed the occurrence of garlic-derived metabolites in breast milk, namely allyl methyl sulfide (AMS), allyl methyl sulfoxide (AMSO) and allyl methyl sulfone (AMSO₂). Of these, only AMS had a garlic-like odor whereas the other two metabolites were odorless. This demonstrates that the odor change in human milk is not related to a direct transfer of garlic odorants, as is currently believed, but rather derives from a single metabolite. The formation of these metabolites is not fully understood, but AMSO and AMSO₂ are most likely formed by the oxidation of AMS in the human body. The excretion rates of these metabolites into breast milk were strongly time-dependent with large inter-individual differences.
Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Emil Fischer Center, Friedrich-Alexander-Universit&#228;t Erlangen-N&#252;rnberg (FAU), Henkestr. 9, Erlangen 91054, Germany. laura.scheffler@fau.de.
Laura
L
Scheffler
Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Emil Fischer Center, Friedrich-Alexander-Universit&#228;t Erlangen-N&#252;rnberg (FAU), Henkestr. 9, Erlangen 91054, Germany. yvonne.sauermann@fau.de.
Yvonne
Y
Sauermann
Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Emil Fischer Center, Friedrich-Alexander-Universit&#228;t Erlangen-N&#252;rnberg (FAU), Henkestr. 9, Erlangen 91054, Germany. gina.zeh@fau.de.
Gina
G
Zeh
Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Emil Fischer Center, Friedrich-Alexander-Universit&#228;t Erlangen-N&#252;rnberg (FAU), Henkestr. 9, Erlangen 91054, Germany. Katharina.hauf@fau.de.
Katharina
K
Hauf
Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Emil Fischer Center, Friedrich-Alexander-Universit&#228;t Erlangen-N&#252;rnberg (FAU), Henkestr. 9, Erlangen 91054, Germany. anja.heinlein@fau.de.
Anja
A
Heinlein
Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Emil Fischer Center, Friedrich-Alexander-Universit&#228;t Erlangen-N&#252;rnberg (FAU), Henkestr. 9, Erlangen 91054, Germany. constanze.sharapa@fau.de.|Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging IVV, Giggenhauser Str. 35, Freising 85354, Germany. constanze.sharapa@fau.de.
Constanze
C
Sharapa
Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Emil Fischer Center, Friedrich-Alexander-Universit&#228;t Erlangen-N&#252;rnberg (FAU), Henkestr. 9, Erlangen 91054, Germany. andrea.buettner@fau.de.|Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging IVV, Giggenhauser Str. 35, Freising 85354, Germany. andrea.buettner@fau.de.
Andrea
A
Buettner
allyl methyl sulfide; allyl methyl sulfone; allyl methyl sulfoxide; garlic; gas-chromatography mass-spectrometry; human milk