Table 7.
Vitamin, mineral, and trace element composition of donor human milk (n = 113).
| Nutrient 1 | Donors | Mature Milk Nutrient Concentration Reference |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| n | Concentration | ||
| Free thiamin, B1 (UPLC-MS/MS) mcg/L | 113 | 18.10 (10.03, 28.43) | Free thiamin 18.5 [74] Total thiamin 180 [75] |
| Free riboflavin, B2 (UPLC-MS/MS) mcg/L | 113 | 47.30 (23.58, 99.90) | Free riboflavin 11.2 [74] Total riboflavin 364 [76] |
| Nicotinamide, B3 (UPLC-MS/MS) mcg/L | 113 | 46.73 (28.50, 82.58) | Nicotinamide 275 [74] Total niacin 2100 [77] |
| Pantothenic acid, B5 (UPLC-MS/MS) mcg/L | 113 | 2264.90 (1864.90, 2540.00) | 2500 [78] 1304 [74] |
| Pyridoxal, B6 (UPLC-MS/MS) mcg/L | 113 | 36.73 (27.80, 53.30) | Pyridoxal 96 [74] B6 130 [79] |
| Folic acid, B9 (UPLC-MS/MS) mcg/L | 113 | 19.88 (7.02) | Folate 80 [79] |
| Cobalamin, B12 (competitive immunoassay) | 113 | ||
| pM | 490.63 (74.30) | ||
| mcg/L | 0.66 (0.10) | 0.5 [80] | |
| Ascorbic acid (HPLC-DAD) mg/dL | 112 | 3.91 (1.71) | |
| Dehydroascorbic acid (HPLC-DAD) mg/dL | 112 | 1.91 (1.29, 3.38) | |
| Vitamin C * (HPLC-DAD) | 112 | ||
| mg/dL | 6.37 (1.41) | ||
| mg/L | 63.70 (14.10) | 35–90 [81] | |
| Retinol (HPLC with fluorescence and UV detector) | 112 | ||
| mcg/dL | 41.15 (26.80, 72.48) | ||
| mcg/L | 411.50 (268.00, 724.80) | 530 [82] | |
| Vitamin D3 (UPLC–electrospray ionization/tandem MS) | 112 | ||
| pg/mL | 1603.65 (373.83, 5279.93) | ||
| mcg/L | 1.60 (0.37, 5.28) | 0.25–2 [83] | |
| 25(OH)D3 (UPLC–electrospray ionization/tandem MS) | 112 | ||
| pg/mL | 53.90 (27.13, 109.85) | ||
| mcg/L | 0.05 (0.03, 0.11) | ||
| α-tocopherol (HPLC with fluorescence and UV detector) | 112 | ||
| mcg/dL | 463.80 (373.33, 586.76) | ||
| mg/L | 4.64 (3.73, 5.87) | 4.6 [84] | |
| γ-tocopherol (HPLC with fluorescence and UV detector) | 112 | ||
| mcg/dL | 50.19 (36.43, 67.08) | ||
| mg/L | 0.50 (0.36, 0.67) | 0.45 [74] | |
| Vitamin E (as TE) ** | 112 | ||
| mcg/dL | 488.02 (163.13) | ||
| mg/L | 4.88 (1.63) | 5.2 [74] | |
| Iodine (ICP-MS) ppb (mcg/L) | 113 | 148.45 (98.95, 204.98) | 50–100 [79] 100–200 [85,86] |
| Calcium (ICP-MS) ppm (mg/L) | 113 | 99.10 (59.70, 127.35) | 200–300 [87] |
| Phosphorous (ICP-MS) ppm (mg/L) | 113 | 132.47 (114.00, 150.40) | 120–140 [79,88] |
| Selenium (ICP-MS) ppb (mcg/L) | 113 | 10.88 (9.30, 12.68) | 18 [89] |
Variables are expressed as means (standard deviations) when they were distributed parametrically and as medians (25th and 75th percentiles) when they were distributed non-parametrically. n is the number of donors with data for the nutrient under study. 1 The units of our results were converted to the units of the reference values for comparability. * Vitamin C = ascorbic acid + dehydroascorbic acid. ** Vitamin E = α-tocopherol (mg) + 0.25 × γ-tocopherol (mg) [90]. Abbreviations: 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 equivalent; ICP, inductively coupled plasma; ppb, parts per billion; ppm, parts per million.