Alpha-Tocopherol Content of Breast Milk in China

Vitamin E is important in preventing oxidative damage from neonates after birth and their sudden exposure to higher oxygen levels than those in the intrauterine environment. During the first 12 days of breast-feeding human milk samples were obtained from 28 mothers of preterm infants (gestational age: 28 to 36 weeks; mean birth weight: 2062 +or- 379 g) and 43 mothers of full-term infants (gestational age: 38 to 41 weeks; mean birth weight: >2700 g). All the mothers lived in the city of Guilin in south China and belonged to middle class families. Only alpha-tocopherol was measured using high performance liquid chromatography with a fluorescence detector. Alpha-tocopherol content of breast milk was calculated using an internal standard. During the first 12 days of breast-feeding the mean alpha-tocopherol concentrations of breast milk of preterm and term infants were 6.00 and 6.98 mg/l respectively. In the first 3 days of breast-feeding alpha-tocopherol concentrations were higher than in the later period. During 3 days of breast-feeding the alpha-tocopherol concentration was slightly higher (statistically not significant) in the milk of preterm mothers than in that of term mothers. The higher alpha-tocopherol levels in colostrum then decreased and were similar in both groups in the subsequent period. The recommended daily vitamin E requirement for infants has been estimated based on their content in breast milk and the total intake of milk as 3 mg alpha-tocopherol equivalent/day in the US. However the alpha-tocopherol content in Chinese breast milk was only about half of that reported in Europe the USA and Japan. Accordingly improvement of the total nutrition of Chinese mothers rather than just vitamin E supplementation may be required to improve the health of their infants since the total intake of energy protein and fat has been reported to influence the daily dietary vitamin E intake.