Assessment of phytochemical content in human milk during different stages of lactation

The present study reports the presence of several carotenoids and flavonoids in human milk samples.

Samples were collected from 17 women who delivered healthy term babies (≥ 37 wk of gestation) at 1-, 4-, and 13-wk postpartum intervals.

Epicatechin (63.7-828.5 nmol/L), epicatechin gallate (55.7-645.6 nmol/L), epigallocatechin gallate (215.1-2364.7 nmol/L), naringenin (64.1-722.0 nmol/L), kaempferol (7.8-71.4 nmol/L), hesperetin (74.8-1603.1 nmol/L), and quercetin (32.5-108.6 nmol/L) were present in human milk samples with high inter-/intraindividual variability. With the exception of kaempferol, the mean flavonoid content in human milk was not statistically different among lactation stages. In contrast, carotenoids α-carotene (59.0-23.2 nmol/L), β-carotene (164.3-88.0 nmol/L), α-cryptoxanthin (30.6-13.5 nmol/L), β-cryptoxanthin (57.4-24.8 nmol/L), zeaxanthin (46.3-21.4 nmol/L), lutein (121.2-56.4 nmol/L), and lycopene (119.9-49.5 nmol/L) significantly decreased from weeks 1 to 13 of lactation.

The observed differences in the relative concentrations of the two phytochemical classes in human milk may be a result of several factors, including dietary exposure, stability in the milk matrix, efficiency of absorption/metabolism, and transfer from plasma to human milk. These data support the notion that flavonoids, as with carotenoids, are dietary phytochemicals present in human milk and potentially available to breast-fed infants.