Investigation of amino acids and minerals in Chinese breast milk.

BACKGROUND: The nutrients in human milk, particularly amino acids and minerals, are important for infant growth and development. Since there are fewer reports of amino acids and minerals of Chinese breast milk, we conducted this study to establish representative preliminary database of breast milk nutrients in China. In this study, we collected breast milk from healthy mothers in seven cities in western, southern and central China. The composition, content and proportion of total amino acids and ten elements (potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, manganese, copper, selenium and phosphorus) in human milk in different lactation stages were investigated. RESULTS: In this study, it was found that the content of total essential amino acids (671.47 mg/100mL) in Chinese breast milk was higher compared with ESPGHAN (574 mg/100mL), but the content of LEU (129.01 mg/100mL) and CYS (20.31 mg/100mL) was much lower than that recommended by ESPGHAN. Moreover, it was found that the content of most of these ten elements decreased during lactation, and the content of calcium in Chinese breast milk was lower compared with ESPGHAN. In addition, the content of selenium (7.23-20.55 mg/1000mL) in breast milk of three cities Nanchang, Shanghai and Guangzhou in China was much higher than that recommended by ESPGHAN. CONCLUSIONS: In a word, amino acids and minerals in Chinese human milk showed significantly difference from other countries. Human milk meal or infant food should be regulated to meet the requirements of the infant and to maintain the balance of the amino acids and mineral. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.