rss
Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed 2009;94:F447-F450 doi:10.1136/adc.2008.153577
  • Original article

Loss of triglycerides and carotenoids in human milk after processing

  1. K J M Tacken1,
  2. A Vogelsang1,
  3. R A van Lingen1,
  4. J Slootstra2,
  5. B D Dikkeschei2,
  6. D van Zoeren-Grobben1
  1. 1
    Princess Amalia Department of Paediatrics Division of Neonatology, Isala klinieken, Zwolle, The Netherlands
  2. 2
    Department of Clinical Chemistry, Isala klinieken, Zwolle, The Netherlands
  1. Correspondence to Mrs A Vogelsang, Princess Amalia Department of Paediatrics, Division of Neonatology, Isala klinieken, P.O. Box 10400 8025 AP Zwolle, The Netherlands; a.vogelsang{at}isala.nl
  • Accepted 20 April 2009
  • Published Online First 4 May 2009

Abstract

Objective: Human milk (HM) is considered to be the best nutrition for preterm infants. However, storage, heating or tube feeding can cause a decline in essential nutrients, which can lead to the loss of antioxidant vitamins, resulting in an increased risk for oxygen radical diseases. Recently we found that carotenoids, present in human milk, can play a role in the antioxidant protection of preterm infants. In this study we evaluated the effect of processing HM and infant formula on the triglycerides and carotenoid concentrations.

Design: The triglyceride, α- and β-carotene, lutein and lycopene concentrations of 30 samples of mature HM of mothers who delivered a term infant and 10 samples of infant formula were measured after refrigeration, freezing, microwave heating and tube feeding with and without exposure to normal light and phototherapy, imitating the clinical feeding routine in the NICU.

Results: After tube feeding triglyceride, lutein and β-carotene concentrations decreased with 33%, 35% and 26% respectively. The decrease in triglycerides in HM accounts for 16% of the total caloric intake of neonates. Triglyceride and carotenoid concentrations in HM remained stable after refrigeration, freezing or low temperature microwave heating, except for lutein which decreased after refrigeration and freezing. In infant formula no differences were found.

Conclusions: Mature human milk can be stored safely in a freezer and heated in a microwave oven without loss of fat or carotenoids. The clinically important loss of fat during tube feeding is probably the most important contributing factor to the decrease in lutein and β-carotene in tube feeding, with only a small role for peroxidation during light-exposure.

Footnotes

  • Funding This study was supported by Friesland Foods, Leeuwarden, The Netherlands

  • Competing interests A Vogelsang has been financially supported by a grant from Friesland Foods, Leeuwarden, The Netherlands.

  • Ethics approval Ethics committee approval was obtained from the Medical Ethical Committee of Isala klinieken, Zwolle.

  • Provenance and Peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

This Article

  1. Abstract
  2. Full text
  3. PDF
  4. All versions of this article:
    1. adc.2008.153577v1
    2. 94/6/F447 most recent

Responses

  1. Submit a response
  2. No responses published

Register for free content

The full back archive is now available for all BMJ Journals. Institutional subscribers may access the entire archive as part of their subscription. Personal subscribers will also have access to all content when logged in. Non-subscribers who register have free access to all articles published before 2006 right back to volume 1 issue 1. Register here to access the free archive of all BMJ Journals.

Don't forget to sign up for content alerts so you keep up to date with all the articles as they are published.