title: Analysis of Naturally Occurring Steroid Hormones in Infant Formulas by HPLC-MS/MS and Contribution to Dietary Intake.
abstract: Milk is a natural fluid and as such contains small amounts of naturally occurring steroids. Human milk is recommended as the optimal source of nutrients for infants and young children, and it has been associated to several short- and long-term benefits. For this reason, its composition is used as a reference for designing infant formulas. However, the available information on the hormonal levels of these dairy products is scarce, and it is usually limited to estradiol and estrone. In the present study, six natural sex hormones (pregnenolone, progesterone, estrone, dehydroepiandrosterone, testosterone and androstenedione) have been extracted from sixteen milk-based infant formulas and analyzed with liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). The purpose of this research was to quantify natural steroid hormones in various infant formulas, to provide food and nutrition practitioners with information to estimate intakes in children. In addition, data found in the literature was used for comparison. The findings suggest that there are certain similarities between bovine milk and dairy products for infants. Furthermore, the detected levels were in general lower than those observed in human milk and/or colostrum. The reported results represent a valuable addition to the current knowledge on natural hormone content of infant foods.
authors.affiliation: Department of Analytical Chemistry, Nutrition and Bromatology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Santiago de Compostela, 27002 Lugo, Spain. rocio.barreiro@usc.es.
authors.forename: Rocío
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Barreiro
authors.affiliation: Department of Analytical Chemistry, Nutrition and Bromatology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Santiago de Compostela, 27002 Lugo, Spain. patricia.regal@usc.es.
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Regal
authors.affiliation: Department of Analytical Chemistry, Nutrition and Bromatology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Santiago de Compostela, 27002 Lugo, Spain. monica.diaz@usc.es.
authors.forename: Mónica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Díaz-Bao
authors.affiliation: Department of Analytical Chemistry, Nutrition and Bromatology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Santiago de Compostela, 27002 Lugo, Spain. cristina.fente@usc.es.
authors.forename: Cristina A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Fente
authors.affiliation: Department of Analytical Chemistry, Nutrition and Bromatology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Santiago de Compostela, 27002 Lugo, Spain. alberto.cepeda@usc.es.
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cepeda
keywords: LC-MS/MS; androgen; bovine milk; breast milk; daily intake; estrogen; infant formula; progestogen; steroid hormone