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Updated: Nov 15, 2025
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Milk Collection in the Rat Using Capillary Tubes and Estimation of Milk Fat Content by Creamatocrit
Published on: December 16, 2015
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Variability of Lipids in Human Milk
Jayashree Selvalatchmanan1,2, A V Rukmini3, Shanshan Ji1
1Singapore Lipidomics Incubator, Life Sciences Institute, National University of Singapore, Singapore 119077, Singapore.
Metabolites
|March 6, 2021
Summary
Human breast milk lipid profiles vary significantly between individuals and throughout the day. Evening samples showed higher concentrations of certain lipids, like triacylglycerols, compared to morning samples.
Area of Science:
- Human milk lipidomics
- Infant nutrition and development
Background:
- Breast milk lipids are crucial for infant growth.
- Limited research exists on human milk lipidome variability.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate individual and diurnal variations in the human milk lipidome.
- Quantify inter- and intra-individual differences in milk lipid composition.
Main Methods:
- Validated a modified two-phase method (MTBE: Methanol 7:2) for lipid extraction.
- Analyzed 237 lipid species from 13 subclasses using RP-LC-MS and DI-MS.
- Studied samples from 20 healthy women, comparing morning and evening collections.
Main Results:
- 85% of lipid species exhibited stable inter-individual differences.
- Half of lipid species were higher in the evening, notably phosphatidylethanolamines (PEs) and triacylglycerols (TAGs).
- Diacylglycerols (DAGs) and TAGs showed greater biological variation, especially in evening samples.
Conclusions:
- Human milk lipidome composition is significantly influenced by individual factors.
- Time of day, particularly evening, impacts milk lipid concentrations and variability.
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