Table 17.
Studies on OTA levels in breast milk in Europe
| Study population | Analytical method | No of samples (No of positive samples) | Median of positive samples (ng/L) | Mean ± SD positive samples (ng/L) | Mean ± SD all samples (ng/L) | Concentration range of positive samples (ng/L) | LOD (ng/L) | LOQ (ng/L) | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lactating women from mid north Sweden. Milk sampled 6 weeks after delivery (mature milk) and 2–3 h after the previous feed. No selection/exclusion criteria reported | LC‐FD | 40 (23) | n.r. | n.r. | n.r. | 10.0–40.0 | 10 | 40 | Breitholtz‐Emanuelsson et al. (1993) |
| Milk samples from Swiss mothers living north of the Alps. No further selection criteria reported | LC‐FD | 40 (4) | n.r. | n.r. | n.r. | 5–14 | n.r. | 5–10 | Zimmerli and Dick (1995) |
| Samples obtained May–August in different regions of Norway. Elverum (south east); Trondheim (middle coast); Bodo (north). No selection/exclusion criteria reported | LC‐FD |
Total: 115 (38) Elverum: 48 (20) Trondheim: 19 (11) Bodo: 48 (7) |
Total: 30 |
Total: n.r. Elverum: 43.2 Trondheim: 49.0 Bodo: 27.4 |
n.r. | 10–130 | n.r. | 10 | Skaug et al. (1998) |
| Samples from healthy women (19–35 years old) from one (not the first) morning feed. Mothers were asked for but not selected because of their dietary habits | LC‐FD | 80 (17) | 16 | 30 | n.r. | 10–182 | n.r. | 10 | Skaug et al. (2001) |
| Samples of mature milk from Polish mothers. No information on selection criteria | ELISA | 78 (40) | n.r. | 6.8 ± 4.9 | n.r. | 2.4–16.0 | n.r. | 5 | Karwowska et al. (2004) |
| Italian mothers from different parts of Lombardy. Milk sampled 3–4 days after birth. No preselection of mothers based on dietary habits | LC‐FD | 231 (198) | 4 | 6.01 ± 8.31 | n.r. | 0.5–17 | 0.5 | n.r. | Turconi et al. (2004) |
| Milk from Polish mothers obtained 3–‐4 days after labour | LC‐FD | 13 (5) | n.r. | 5.6 ± 4 | n.r. | 5.3–17 | 5 | 15 | Postupolski et al. (2006) |
| Milk obtained from Slovak mothers from 0 to 6 months after delivery | LC‐FD | 76 (23) | n.r. | n.r. | n.r. | 4.8–60.3 | 4.8 | 14.4 | Dostal et al. (2008) |
| Mature milk samples collected from Italian mothers 30 days after delivery. Only healthy non‐smoking, non‐ drinking mothers with healthy babies were enrolled in the study | LC‐FD | 82 (61) | n.r. | 30.43 ±.88 | n.r. | 5–405 | 2 | 5 | Galvano et al. (2008) |
| Samples from 57 Italian and non‐Italian mothers obtained 3–4 days after delivery in a hospital in Northern Italy | LC‐FD | 57 (41) | n.r. | 10.0 ± 15.6 | n.r. | 1.0–75.1 | 0.5 | 1.0 | Biasucci et al. (2011) |
| Milk collected from 90 German mothers, 30 in Nordrhein Westfalen (NRW) and 60 in Niedersachsen (NS) | LC‐MS |
90 in total NRW 30 (7) NS NS 60 (6) |
n.r. | n.r. |
24.41 ± 21.1 (NRW) 14.4 ± 15.1 (NS) |
n.r. | 10 | 30 | Muñoz et al. (2013) |
| Healthy (30) and ceoliac (35, on a gluten‐free diet) breast feeding mothers. Samples collected three times daily for three consecutive days between 2 weeks and 4 months after birth. No further selection/exclusion criteria reported | LC‐FD | 453 (7) | n.r. | n.r. | n.r. | 17–123 | n.r. | 34 | Valitutti et al. (2018) |
ELISA: enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay; LC‐FD: liquid chromatography‐fluorescence detection; LC‐MS: liquid chromatography‐mass spectroscopy; LOD: limit of quantification; LOQ: limit of quantification; n.r.: not reported; SD: standard deviation.