Human Milk Plasmalogens Are Highly Enriched in Long-Chain PUFAs

Area of Science:

• Human milk lipidomics
• Infant nutrition
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Human milk contains unique ethanolamine plasmalogens (Pls-PEs) vital for infant brain development.
• Pls-PEs are enriched in long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAs), especially docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).
• Analytical challenges hinder understanding of Pls-PE fatty acid (FA) composition and maternal diet influence.

Purpose of the Study:

• Develop improved methods for Pls-PE extraction and FA analysis from human milk.
• Compare FA profiles of Pls-PEs with phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine.
• Investigate associations between maternal DHA intake and milk Pls-PE DHA content.

Main Methods:

• Collected mature milk samples from 25 women.
• Utilized solid-phase extraction for phospholipid isolation.
• Employed normal-phase HPLC for Pls-PE separation and Gas-Liquid Chromatography (GLC) for FA analysis.
• Assessed maternal diet via a validated food-frequency questionnaire.

Main Results:

• Pls-PEs exhibited significantly higher LC-PUFA concentrations, including arachidonic acid (AA) and DHA, compared to other milk phospholipids.
• AA in Pls-PEs was approximately 2.5-fold higher than in phosphatidylethanolamine.
• DHA levels in Pls-PEs varied considerably among women and within individuals across different days, seemingly independent of maternal DHA intake.

Conclusions:

• Human milk supplies LC-PUFAs from diverse lipid sources, including Pls-PEs.
• Further research is needed to determine the biological factors influencing Pls-PE FA composition and their physiological significance for breastfed infants.