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Changes in the fatty acid content of Egyptian human milk across the lactation stages and in comparison with Chinese human milk

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Abstract

The standard food for feeding babies is breast milk (BM). There is a growing interest in research related to the composition and positional distribution of fatty acids (FAs) in BM due to their role as the primary source of energy, essential FAs, and other physiological functions in the body. The purpose of this study was to assess the extent of changes in FAs content of the BM of Egyptian women over the three lactation stages with a comparison to their Chinese counterparts. FAs contents of 45 BM samples obtained from healthy Egyptian women during the three stages of lactation were analyzed using gas chromatography. The results showed that the total saturated FAs formed about 50% of the total FAs over lactation stages. The poly-unsaturated FAs were significantly different in the three stages of lactation; (20.63%) colostrum, (15.21%) transitional, and (25.23%) mature of the total FAs. Despite some fluctuations, the total sn-2 proportion of the n-6/n-3 ratio was nearly stable during lactation. The BM of Egyptian women had a slightly higher proportion of palmitic, myristic acids and a ratio of n-6/n-3. Conversely, Chinese women’s BM has a significantly higher proportion of oleic, nervonic as well as arachidonic, and docosahexaenoic acids. Further study should be conducted to evaluate the FAs composition of some commercial infant formulas available in Egypt.

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Abbreviations

BM:

Breast milk

FAs:

Fatty acids

ARA:

Arachidonic acid

DHA:

Docosahexaenoic acid

ALA:

Alpha-linolenic acid

LA:

Linoleic acid

GC:

Gas chromatography

MAG:

Monoacylglycerol

PLS-DA:

Partial least squares discriminant analysis

SFAs:

Saturated fatty acids

MUFAs:

Mono-unsaturated fatty acids

PUFAs:

Poly-unsaturated fatty acids

SCFAs:

Short-chain fatty acids

MCFAs:

Medium-chain fatty acids

LCFAs:

Long-chain fatty acids

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant number 31701558), the Young Elite Scientists Sponsorship Program by CAST (Grant number 2017QNRC001), and the Overseas Expertise Introduction Project for Discipline Innovation (111 Project, B90719028).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Lab of Food Science and Technology, International Joint Research Laboratory for Lipid Nutrition and Safety, Collaborative Innovation Center of Food Safety and Quality Control in Jiangsu Province, School of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, Jiangsu, China

    Ibrahim A. Bakry, Wei Wei & Xingguo Wang

  2. Department of Food and Dairy Technology, Faculty of Technology and Development, Zagazig University, Zagazig, 44511, Sharkia, Egypt

    Ibrahim A. Bakry

  3. School of Food Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, 381 Wushan Road, Guangzhou, 510641, Guangdong, China

    Sameh A. Korma

  4. Department of Food Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Zagazig University, 114 El-Zeraa Road, Zagazig, 44511, Sharkia, Egypt

    Sameh A. Korma

  5. Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig, 44511, Sharkia, Egypt

    Alaa E. Nafea

  6. School of Food and Biological Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, 212013, China

    Amer Ali Mahdi

  7. Department of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Chester, Chester, UK

    Noha I. Ziedan

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  1. Ibrahim A. Bakry
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  2. Sameh A. Korma
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  3. Wei Wei
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  4. Alaa E. Nafea
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  5. Amer Ali Mahdi
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  7. Xingguo Wang
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Correspondence to Wei Wei or Xingguo Wang.

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The experiments were approved by the Ethics Committee of Jiangnan University (JN no. 2121203-0120).

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Bakry, I.A., Korma, S.A., Wei, W. et al. Changes in the fatty acid content of Egyptian human milk across the lactation stages and in comparison with Chinese human milk. Eur Food Res Technol 247, 1035–1048 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00217-021-03685-2

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