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Human milk lactoferrin and lysozyme concentrations vary in response to a dietary intervention
Azhar S Sindi1, Lisa F Stinson2, Ching Tat Lai2
1Division of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, School of Medicine, The University of Western Australia, Subiaco, Western Australia, Australia; College of Applied Medical Sciences, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia; ABREAST Network, Perth, Western Australia, Australia; UWA Centre for Human Lactation Research and Translation, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia.
Abstract:
It is known that human milk (HM)1 antimicrobial protein composition varies during lactation. However, the impact of maternal diet on these antimicrobial proteins, particularly lactoferrin and lysozyme remains unknown. In addition, it is unclear whether daily, circadian, and between breast variations exist for lactoferrin and lysozyme concentrations. We investigated the impact of a low sugar, low fat, high fibre dietary intervention on HM lysozyme and lactoferrin concentrations. HM was sampled across a 3-week period; daily, at different times of day, and from both breasts to measure the level of intraindividual variation. The intervention significantly reduced maternal sugar, total fat, and saturated fat intake. HM lactoferrin concentration declined significantly over the course of the intervention however the effect size was relatively small. In addition, lactoferrin and lysozyme concentrations were variable over time, and differed significantly within and across the day but not between breasts.
