Related Experiment Videos
Serum thiamin, pyridoxal, cobalamin and folate concentrations in young infants
Insights
Infant milk formulas are linked to higher serum thiamin, pyridoxal, and cobalamin levels. However, infants on cow's milk showed lower folate levels despite higher folate content in the milk.
Area of Science:
- Nutritional Biochemistry
- Pediatric Nutrition
- Clinical Chemistry
Background:
- Infant nutrition significantly impacts health and development.
- Understanding vitamin levels in infants is crucial for early detection of deficiencies.
- Dietary intake, including breast milk and formula, influences nutrient status.
Purpose of the Study:
- To establish reference ranges for key vitamins in breastfed infants.
- To compare serum vitamin concentrations between breastfed infants, those on formula, and those on cow's milk.
- To investigate the impact of different milk sources on infant vitamin status.
Main Methods:
- Serum samples collected from 509 healthy infants (3-54 weeks).
- Assayed for thiamin, pyridoxal, cobalamin, and folate.
- Compared vitamin levels across three feeding groups: breastfed, formula-fed, and cow's milk-fed.
Main Results:
- Established 95 percentile reference ranges for breastfed infants.
- Formula-fed infants showed significantly higher serum thiamin, pyridoxal, and cobalamin than breastfed infants.
- Cow's milk-fed infants had significantly lower serum folate despite higher milk folate content.
Conclusions:
- Different infant feeding practices lead to distinct serum vitamin profiles.
- Manufactured formulas may enhance absorption or intake of certain vitamins compared to breast milk.
- Cow's milk feeding in infants may be associated with impaired folate status.
Abstract:
Blood samples were obtained from 509 apparently healthy infants between the age of 3 and 54 weeks attending for routine checks at infant health centres. Serum was assayed for thiamin, pyridoxal, cobalamin and folate. Three hundred and five infants were being breast fed and results from these were used to construct a reference range-thiamin 2-17 micrograms/l, pyridoxal 8-39 micrograms/l, cobalamin 120-800 ng/l and folate 7-47 micrograms/l (95 percentile ranges). One hundred and thirty-four infants were being fed a manufactured milk formulation and the serum concentrations of thiamin, pyridoxal and cobalamin were significantly higher than those found in breast fed infants. Thirteen infants were receiving pasteurized cow's milk. This milk was found to have more than 3 times the folate content of human breast milk yet these infants had a significantly reduced serum level of folate.