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Relationships among Different Water-Soluble Choline Compounds Differ between Human Preterm and Donor Milk
Sara Moukarzel1, Lynda Soberanes2, Roger A Dyer3
1Department of Pediatrics, University of California San Diego, San Diego, USA and Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation Mother-Milk-Infant Center of Research Excellence, Health Sciences, University of California, San Diego, CA 92093, USA. smoukarzel@ucsd.edu.
Nutrients
|April 8, 2017
Summary
Human milk contains essential choline in three forms. Mother's own preterm milk and donor milk have similar choline levels, but compound relationships differ significantly between them.
Area of Science:
- Nutritional Biochemistry
- Infant Nutrition
- Neonatal Care
Background:
- Choline is vital for infant development.
- Human milk provides choline in three main water-soluble forms: free choline (FC), phosphocholine (PhosC), and glycerophosphocholine (GPC).
- Understanding choline composition in preterm infant nutrition is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare water-soluble choline (WSC) composition between mother's own preterm milk and pooled donor milk.
- To investigate interrelationships between different WSC compounds in these milk types.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of WSC composition in mother's own preterm milk (n=75) and donor milk (n=30) using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS).
- Statistical analysis of associations between WSC compounds using Pearson's correlations and Fischer r-to-z transformation.
Main Results:
- Total WSC concentrations and individual forms (FC, PhosC, GPC) did not differ significantly between mother's own milk and donor milk.
- Significant differences in associations were observed: FC showed negative correlations with PhosC and GPC in mother's own milk, unlike in donor milk.
- PhosC and GPC were positively associated in mother's own milk but not significantly in donor milk.
Conclusions:
- While overall WSC levels are comparable, the interrelationships between choline metabolites differ between mother's own preterm milk and donor milk.
- These distinct associations may have implications for preterm infant metabolism and clinical outcomes.
- Further research is needed to elucidate the metabolic and clinical significance of these findings.