Longitudinal Variation of Amino Acid Levels in Human Milk and Their Associations with Infant Gender
It is discussed that specific amino acids (AAs) have functional roles in early life. Understanding the AA composition in human milk (HM) during lactation assists in specifying these roles. To this end we assessed the levels of free AAs (FAAs), total AAs (free and bound, TAAs) and protein levels in H...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2018-09-01
|
| Series: | Nutrients |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/10/9/1233 |
| _version_ | 1811315358205739008 |
|---|---|
| author | Joris H. J. van Sadelhoff Bert J. M. van de Heijning Bernd Stahl Sonia Amodio Edmond H. H. M. Rings M. Luisa Mearin Johan Garssen Anita Hartog |
| author_facet | Joris H. J. van Sadelhoff Bert J. M. van de Heijning Bernd Stahl Sonia Amodio Edmond H. H. M. Rings M. Luisa Mearin Johan Garssen Anita Hartog |
| author_sort | Joris H. J. van Sadelhoff |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | It is discussed that specific amino acids (AAs) have functional roles in early life. Understanding the AA composition in human milk (HM) during lactation assists in specifying these roles. To this end we assessed the levels of free AAs (FAAs), total AAs (free and bound, TAAs) and protein levels in HM in the first 6 months of lactation, and evaluated possible associations with infant gender. HM samples of 25 healthy Dutch mothers participating in the PreventCD study were collected monthly during the first 6 months of lactation. Of the participating mothers, 12 gave birth to a boy and 13 gave birth to a girl. Analyses of the HM samples revealed that levels of free glutamate, glutamine, aspartate, glycine, and serine significantly increased during months 1–3 of lactation, both in absolute sense and relative to TAA levels. Evaluation of gender differences by mixed model analyses revealed an association between female infant gender and higher protein content (p = 0.0465) and TAA content (p = 0.0362) in HM during the first 3 months of lactation. Furthermore, there was a tendency for an association of male infant gender with higher levels of free glutamine (p = 0.0948) in HM during the first 3 months of lactation. These results show that FAA, TAA and protein levels in HM display a time-specific occurrence during lactation. Moreover, although confirmation is necessary in view of the small sample size, this study indicates that the AA composition in HM shows differential effects of the infant’s sex. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T11:29:56Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a5f5c0910997401583892eb8acf38f21 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-6643 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T11:29:56Z |
| publishDate | 2018-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nutrients |
| spelling | doaj.art-a5f5c0910997401583892eb8acf38f212022-12-22T02:48:36ZengMDPI AGNutrients2072-66432018-09-01109123310.3390/nu10091233nu10091233Longitudinal Variation of Amino Acid Levels in Human Milk and Their Associations with Infant GenderJoris H. J. van Sadelhoff0Bert J. M. van de Heijning1Bernd Stahl2Sonia Amodio3Edmond H. H. M. Rings4M. Luisa Mearin5Johan Garssen6Anita Hartog7Danone Nutricia Research, Early Life Nutrition, Uppsalalaan 12, 3584 CT Utrecht, The NetherlandsDanone Nutricia Research, Early Life Nutrition, Uppsalalaan 12, 3584 CT Utrecht, The NetherlandsDanone Nutricia Research, Early Life Nutrition, Uppsalalaan 12, 3584 CT Utrecht, The NetherlandsDanone Nutricia Research, Early Life Nutrition, Uppsalalaan 12, 3584 CT Utrecht, The NetherlandsDepartment of Pediatrics, Erasmus Medical Center, Doctor Molewaterplein 40, 3015 GD Rotterdam, The NetherlandsDepartment of Pediatrics, Leiden University Medical Center, Albinusdreef 2, 2333 ZA Leiden, The NetherlandsDanone Nutricia Research, Early Life Nutrition, Uppsalalaan 12, 3584 CT Utrecht, The NetherlandsDanone Nutricia Research, Early Life Nutrition, Uppsalalaan 12, 3584 CT Utrecht, The NetherlandsIt is discussed that specific amino acids (AAs) have functional roles in early life. Understanding the AA composition in human milk (HM) during lactation assists in specifying these roles. To this end we assessed the levels of free AAs (FAAs), total AAs (free and bound, TAAs) and protein levels in HM in the first 6 months of lactation, and evaluated possible associations with infant gender. HM samples of 25 healthy Dutch mothers participating in the PreventCD study were collected monthly during the first 6 months of lactation. Of the participating mothers, 12 gave birth to a boy and 13 gave birth to a girl. Analyses of the HM samples revealed that levels of free glutamate, glutamine, aspartate, glycine, and serine significantly increased during months 1–3 of lactation, both in absolute sense and relative to TAA levels. Evaluation of gender differences by mixed model analyses revealed an association between female infant gender and higher protein content (p = 0.0465) and TAA content (p = 0.0362) in HM during the first 3 months of lactation. Furthermore, there was a tendency for an association of male infant gender with higher levels of free glutamine (p = 0.0948) in HM during the first 3 months of lactation. These results show that FAA, TAA and protein levels in HM display a time-specific occurrence during lactation. Moreover, although confirmation is necessary in view of the small sample size, this study indicates that the AA composition in HM shows differential effects of the infant’s sex.http://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/10/9/1233breastfeedingfree amino acidsglutamineglutamate |
| spellingShingle | Joris H. J. van Sadelhoff Bert J. M. van de Heijning Bernd Stahl Sonia Amodio Edmond H. H. M. Rings M. Luisa Mearin Johan Garssen Anita Hartog Longitudinal Variation of Amino Acid Levels in Human Milk and Their Associations with Infant Gender Nutrients breastfeeding free amino acids glutamine glutamate |
| title | Longitudinal Variation of Amino Acid Levels in Human Milk and Their Associations with Infant Gender |
| title_full | Longitudinal Variation of Amino Acid Levels in Human Milk and Their Associations with Infant Gender |
| title_fullStr | Longitudinal Variation of Amino Acid Levels in Human Milk and Their Associations with Infant Gender |
| title_full_unstemmed | Longitudinal Variation of Amino Acid Levels in Human Milk and Their Associations with Infant Gender |
| title_short | Longitudinal Variation of Amino Acid Levels in Human Milk and Their Associations with Infant Gender |
| title_sort | longitudinal variation of amino acid levels in human milk and their associations with infant gender |
| topic | breastfeeding free amino acids glutamine glutamate |
| url | http://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/10/9/1233 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jorishjvansadelhoff longitudinalvariationofaminoacidlevelsinhumanmilkandtheirassociationswithinfantgender AT bertjmvandeheijning longitudinalvariationofaminoacidlevelsinhumanmilkandtheirassociationswithinfantgender AT berndstahl longitudinalvariationofaminoacidlevelsinhumanmilkandtheirassociationswithinfantgender AT soniaamodio longitudinalvariationofaminoacidlevelsinhumanmilkandtheirassociationswithinfantgender AT edmondhhmrings longitudinalvariationofaminoacidlevelsinhumanmilkandtheirassociationswithinfantgender AT mluisamearin longitudinalvariationofaminoacidlevelsinhumanmilkandtheirassociationswithinfantgender AT johangarssen longitudinalvariationofaminoacidlevelsinhumanmilkandtheirassociationswithinfantgender AT anitahartog longitudinalvariationofaminoacidlevelsinhumanmilkandtheirassociationswithinfantgender |