Analysis of free ACh and 5-HT in milk from four different species and their bioactivity on 5-HT3 and nACh receptors

Milk is one of the most beneficial aliments and is highly recommended in normal conditions; however, in certain disorders, like irritable bowel syndrome, cow milk and dairy products worsen the gastric symptoms and their use is not recommended. Among the most recognized milk-induced gatrointestinal symptoms are abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, which are processes controlled by cholinergic and serotonergic transmission. Whether the presence of bioavailable ACh and 5-HT in milk may contribute to normal peristalsis, or to the developing of these symptoms, is not known. In this work we attempt to determine whether the content of free ACh and 5-HT is of physiological significance in milk from four different species: cow (bovine), goat, camel and human. Liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) was used to identify and quantify free ACh and 5-HT in milk, and activation of the serotonergic and cholinergic ionotropic receptors was investigated using electrophysiological experiments. Our principal hypothesis was that milk from these four species had sufficient free ACh and 5-HT to activate their correspondent receptors expressed in a heterologous system. Our results showed a more complex picture, in which free ACh and 5-HT and their ability to activate cholinergic and serotonergic receptors are not correlated. This work is a first step to elucidate whether 5-HT and ACh, at the concentrations present in the milk, can be associated to a direct function in the GI.