Table 13.
Vitamins and minerals in milk of omnivore human milk donors with full-term infants (Donors) and vegetarian/vegan mothers (Veg).
| Nutrient 1 | Mature Milk Nutrient Concentration Reference |
Donors | (n = 92) | Veg | (n = 20) | p Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n (o) | Mean (SE)/Median (RIQ) | n (o) | Mean (SE)/Median (RIQ) | |||
| Free thiamin, B1 (UPLC-MS/MS) mcg/L | Free thiamin 18.5 [90] Total thiamin 180 [91] |
92 (362) | 22.01 (0.92)/17.45 (0.50, 30.40) | 20 (80) | 24.75 (2.35)/22.50 (7.70, 33.95) | 0.560 |
| Free riboflavin, B2 (UPLC-MS/MS) mcg/L | Free riboflavin 11.2 [90] Total riboflavin 364 [92] |
92 (362) | 78.72 (4.93)/43.05 (22.10, 104.50) | 20 (80) | 89.49 (22.16)/15.70 (8.80, 60.20) | <0.001 |
| Nicotinamide, B3 (UPLC-MS/MS) mcg/L | Nicotinamide 275 [90] Total niacin 2100 [93] |
92 (362) | 59.43 (2.62)/44.55 (23.60, 79.30) | 20 (80) | 33.11 (2.51)/27.10 (13.80, 49.10) | <0.001 |
| Pantothenic acid, B5 (UPLC-MS/MS) mcg/L | 2500 [94] | 92 (362) | 2176.31 (25.85)/2230.70 (1763.80, 2538.30) | 20 (80) | 2305.05 (62.94)/2370.00 (1929.55, 2718.70) | 0.034 |
| Pyridoxal, B6 (UPLC-MS/MS) mcg/L | Pyridoxal 96 [90] B6 130 [95] |
92 (362) | 40.91 (1.12)/37.05 (26.40, 51.70) | 20 (80) | 48.46 (3.87)/43.35 (23.70, 59.90) | 0.233 |
| Folate, B9 (UPLC-MS/MS) mcg/L | 80 [95] | 92 (362) | 19.82 (0.40)/18.95 (14.60, 25.10) | 20 (80) | 18.79 (1.57)/15.75 (11.25, 21.30) | 0.002 |
| Cobalamin, B12 (Competitive immunoassay) | 92 (358) | 20 (79) | 0.007 | |||
| pM | 482.89 (4.11)/479.70 (435.70–527.80) | 545.69 (20.49)/510.90 (440.70–566.80) | ||||
| mcg/L | 0.5 [96] | 0.654 (0.01)/0.650 (0.591, 0.715) | 0.740 (0.03)/0.692 (0.597, 0.768) | |||
| Vitamin C * (HPLC-DAD) | 91 (358) | 20 (80) | 0.247 | |||
| mg/dL | 6.33 (0.08)/6.20 (5.45, 7.08) | 6.50 (0.16)/6.40 (5.63, 7.77) | ||||
| mg/L | 35–90 [75] | 63.30 (0.80)/62.00 (54.50, 70.80) | 65.00 (1.60)/64.00 (56.30, 77.70) | |||
| Retinol (HPLC with fluorescence and UV detector) | 91 (357) | 19 (76) | <0.001 | |||
| mcg/dL | 1130.67 (243.99)/38.80 (24.10, 68.60) | 1123.11 (400.04)/200.60 (40.60, 249.35) | ||||
| mcg/L | 530 [97] | 11306.7 (2439.9)/388.0 (241.0, 686.0) | 11231.1 (4000.4)/2000.6 (406.0, 2493.5) | |||
| Vitamin D3 (UPLC–electrospray ionization/tandem MS) | 92 (362) | 20 (80) | <0.001 | |||
| pg/mL | 3433.84 (291.29)/1141.75 (340.15, 4345.90) | 1102.01 (224.89)/336.05 (123.55, 1345.55) | ||||
| mcg/L | 0.25–2 [98] | 3.43 (0.29)/1.14 (0.34, 4.35) | 1.10 (0.22)/0.34 (0.12, 1.35) | |||
| 25(OH)D (UPLC–electrospray ionization/tandem MS) | 92 (362) | 20 (80) | 0.084 | |||
| pg/mL | 82.66 (5.57)/46.50 (23.35, 102.60) | 100.36 (11.14)/62.70 (30.70, 131.45) | ||||
| mcg/L | 0.083 (0.006)/0.047 (0.023, 0.103) | 0.104 (0.011)/0.063 (0.031, 0.131) | ||||
| α-tocopherol (HPLC with fluorescence and UV detector) | 91 (357) | 19 (76) | 0.206 | |||
| mcg/dL | 465.80 (10.85)/433.00 (309.80, 579.70) | 432.34 (23.01)/407.25 (279.35, 558.40) | ||||
| mg/L | 4.6 [99] | 4.65 (0.10)/4.33 (3.10, 5.80) | 4.32 (0.23)/4.07 (2.79, 5.58) | |||
| γ-tocopherol (HPLC with fluorescence and UV detector) | 91 (357) | 19 (76) | <0.001 | |||
| mcg/dL | 53.86 (1.36)/47.20 (35.10, 69.39) | 77.48 (4.45)/68.45 (47.10, 104.40) | ||||
| mg/L | 0.45 [90] | 0.539 (0.014)/0.472 (0.351, 0.694) | 0.775 (0.045)/0.685 (0.471, 0.104) | |||
| Vitamin E (as TE) ** mg/L | 5.2 [90] | 91 (357) | 4.77 (0.11)/4.46 (3.19, 5.94) | 19 (76) | 4.52 (0.24)/4.27 (2.99, 5.93) | 0.330 |
| Iodine (ICP-MS) ppb (mcg/L) | 50–100 [95] 100–200 [100,101] |
92 (366) | 159.22 (5.13)/135.65 (88.30, 197.50) | 20 (80) | 126.42 (13.37)/95.65 (50.25, 145.65) | <0.001 |
| Calcium (ICP-MS) ppm (mg/L) | 200–300 [102] | 92 (366) | 98.93 (2.87)/91.00 (54.80, 135.60) | 20 (80) | 83.54 (3.70)/80.00 (60.40, 102.55) | 0.093 |
| Phosphorous (ICP-MS) ppm (mg/L) | 120–140 [95,103] | 92 (366) | 131.22 (1.49)/128.85 (111.30, 145.80) | 20 (80) | 120.02 (2.25)/120.75 (107.40, 134.20) | 0.002 |
| Selenium (ICP-MS) ppb (mcg/L) | 18 [104] | 92 (366) | 11.72 (0.25)/10.80 (9.10, 13.30) | 20 (80) | 9.90 (0.37)/9.45 (7.75, 11.00) | <0.001 |
The quantitative variables are presented as the means (standard error of the mean) and as medians (interquartile range). The distribution of all variables was non-normal, except for vitamin C, which had a normal distribution. n is the total number of women in each group with data for the studied nutrient, and (o) is the total number of observations for each nutrient. The maximum for each nutrient was 368 in the Donors group and 80 in the Veg group as 4 milk samples were collected for each woman. When these values were not reached, it meant that there were losses in the milk collection or analysis. 1 For the purpose of comparison, the units of our results were converted to those used in the references for the nutrients in the human milk. * Vitamin C = ascorbic acid + dehydroascorbic acid. ** Vitamin E is calculated as the sum of each vitamer expressed as tocopherol equivalents (TE) (mg) = α-tocopherol (mg) + 0.25 × γ-tocopherol (mg) [105]. Abbreviations: SE, standard error; IQR, interquartile range; UPLC, ultra-performance liquid chromatography; MS/MS, tandem mass spectrometry; HPLC, high-performance liquid chromatography; DAD, diode array detector; UV, ultraviolet; MS, mass spectrometry; TE, tocopherol equivalents; ICP, inductively coupled plasma; ppb, parts per billion; and ppm, parts per million.