Fatty acid composition of mature human milk in Germany

An improved gas-chromatographic method with high resolution, sensitivity, and precision was used for analyzing the fatty acid composition of human milk lipids. In 24-h collections of mature hindmilk of 15 German women, 42 different fatty acids could be separated and quantified. Among the saturated fatty acids (median sum 42.76%, wt/wt), six odd-chain fatty acids accounted for 1.16%. Cis monounsaturated acids represented 37.98%. Trans fatty acids, which may have untoward effects on the recipient infant, contributed 4.40% with seven isomers. The polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) fraction (13.82%) included 10 long-chain PUFAs (LCPs; 1.66%). The content of the physiologically important LCPs in milk lipids did not correlate with their parent fatty acids (ie, linoleic and alpha-linolenic acids) but there was a significant correlation between the sum of omega-3 and omega-6 LCPs suggesting interindividual differences in the capacity for secretion of milk-lipid LCPs between mothers.