Mineral Profiling of Preterm, Term Breast Milk, and Commercial Infant Formula: Evaluating Nutritional Adequacy for...

This study assessed the mineral adequacy of mothers' own milk, term milk, and preterm formula for premature neonates, evaluated toxic element contents using Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectrometry, and audited formula labels. Preterm and term milk were inadequate in meeting European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology Hepatology and Nutrition-modeled mineral requirements for preterm infants at an assumed enteral intake of 165 mL/kg/d, particularly for calcium, chromium, phosphorus, magnesium, zinc, sodium, and selenium. Preterm formula met or even exceeded the requirements for calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and zinc more frequently than human milk (P<0.05), though these findings should be interpreted cautiously given the small number of formula samples (n=5). Mineral composition was similar between preterm and term milk, except for higher phosphorus in term milk (P<0.05). Aluminum concentrations were greater in human milk－preterm and term: 16.2 and 5.9 µg/mL, respectively－than in preterm formula at 1.16 µg/mL (P<0.05). Labeled and measured formula values for calcium, sodium, sulfur, strontium, titanium, and zinc varied significantly (P<0.05). Despite lower mineral content, mothers' milk with individualized fortification is recommended for its immune benefits. These findings underline the need for improved formula labeling and monitoring of toxic elements.