title: A Comparison of Nutritional Antioxidant Content in Breast Milk, Donor Milk, and Infant Formulas.
abstract: Human milk is the optimal food for human infants, including infants born prematurely. In the event that a mother of a hospitalized infant cannot provide breast milk, donor milk is considered an acceptable alternative. It is known that the macronutrient composition of donor milk is different than human milk, with variable fat content and protein content. However, much less is known about the micronutrient content of donor milk, including nutritional antioxidants. Samples of breast milk from 12 mothers of infants hospitalized in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit until were collected and analyzed for concentrations of nutritional antioxidants, including α-carotene, β-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin, lycopene, lutein + zeaxanthin, retinol, and α-tocopherol. Additionally, a homogenized sample of donor milk available from a commercial milk bank and samples of infant formulas were also analyzed. Concentrations of nutritional antioxidants were measured using high-performance liquid chromatography. Compared to breast milk collected from mothers of hospitalized infants, commercially available donor milk had 18%-53% of the nutritional antioxidant content of maternal breast milk. As donor milk is becoming a common nutritional intervention for the high risk preterm infant, the nutritional antioxidant status of donor milk-fed premature infants and outcomes related to oxidative stress may merit further investigation.
authors: College of Allied Health Professions, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Medical Nutrition Education, 984045 Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198-4045, USA. ckhanson@unmc.edu.
authors: Corrine
authors: C
authors: Hanson
authors: College of Public Health, University of Nebraska Medical Center, 984375 Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198-4375, USA. elyden@unmc.edu.
authors: Elizabeth
authors: E
authors: Lyden
authors: Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, 655 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, USA. jfurtado@hsph.harvard.edu.
authors: Jeremy
authors: J
authors: Furtado
authors: Pediatrics, University of Nebraska Medical Center, 981205 Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198-1205, USA. Matthew.vanormer@unmc.edu.
authors: Matthew
authors: M
authors: Van Ormer
authors: Pediatrics, University of Nebraska Medical Center, 981205 Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198-1205, USA. alanders@unmc.edu.
authors: Ann
authors: A
authors: Anderson-Berry
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000032:analysis*; D002338:Carotenoids / Q000032:analysis*; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006358:Hot Temperature / Q000009:adverse effects; D006801:Humans; D041943:Infant Formula / Q000737:chemistry*; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D017784:Milk Banks; D008895:Milk, Human / Q000737:chemistry*; D009329:Nebraska; D009753:Nutritive Value; D061352:Pasteurization; D011247:Pregnancy; D047928:Premature Birth / Q000378:metabolism; D013056:Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet; D047929:Term Birth / Q000378:metabolism; D024505:Tocopherols / Q000032:analysis*; D014801:Vitamin A / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D014801:Vitamin A; D002338:Carotenoids; D024505:Tocopherols
keywords: antioxidants; breast milk; breast milk substitutes; human milk; infant feeding; infant formula