Fatty acid compositions of human breast milk in five regions of China

Objective To update the data of the fatty acid compositions in human milk from different regions of China.Methods A total of 156 healthy postpartum lactating women,who all deliver full-term infants were selected from five cities which were Shanghai,Chongqing,Changchun,Guangzhou and Hohhot.The human milk samples of postnatal day 1 to 7 and postnatal day 42 were collected successively from every participants.The fatty acid compositions of human milk were analyzed by high-resolution capillary gas chromatography.Results The total fatty acid(TFA) content in human milk was significantly increased from postnantal day 1 to 7 and postnantal day 42(P0.01).TFA content was higher in human milk on postnatal day 42 of Shanghai(34.96g/L),but lower in Guangzhou(29.72g/L).The saturated fatty acid(SFA)was significantly increased in human milk from postnatal day 1 to 7 and decreased on postnatal day 42(P0.05).The percentage of SFA in human milk was higher on postnatal day 42 in Hohhot(37.43%),but lower in Changchun(32.80%).The percentage of monounsaturated fatty acids(MUFA) in human milk was higher on postnatal day 42 in Chongqing(44.06%),but lower in Changchun(32.57%).Oleic acid(C18:ln-9) was one kind of MUFA with highest level in human milk.The percentage of oleic acid in human mild was higher on postnatal day 42 in Chongqing(39.97%).The percentage of linoleic acid(LA) in human milk was higher on postnatal day 42 in Changchun(30.82%),but lower in Chongqing(18.40%).The percentage of a-linolenic acid(ALA) in human milk was higher on postnatal day 42 in Changchun(2.12%),but lower in Guangzhou(0.79%).The percentage of docosahexaenoic acid(DHA) in human milk was higher on postnatal day 42 in Shanghai and Guangzhou(both were 0.41%),but lower in Hohhot(0.19%).The percentage of arachidonic acid(AA) in human milk was higher on postnatal day 42 in Guangzhou.Conclusions The study showed that the fatty acid compositions of human milk were significantly different in different regions of China.