Nitric oxide metabolites and adrenomedullin in human breast milk

Naoko Ohta1, Hirokazu Tsukahara, Yusei Ohshima

  • 1Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Fukui, Fukui 910-1193, Japan.

We found high concentrations of nitrite/nitrate (166-1460 micromol/l) in 43 milk samples obtained from 32 women during postpartum days 1-8, which indicates enhanced mammary nitric oxide (NO) secretion. We detected adrenomedullin (AM) (2.7-20.7 pmol/l) only in 9 of the 43 samples using highly specific immunoradiometric assay. It is uncertain whether the entire adrenomedullin is actively secreted in human milk.