The fatty acids of human milk from mothers on diets taken ad libitum

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Abstract
The fatty acid compositions of human milk obtained on individual samples from 11 mothers on diets taken ad libitum were determined by gas-liquid chromatography and by UV spectrophotometry after isomerization of polyenoic acids with alkali. The patterns of acids from the 2 breasts were nearly identical. A major proportion (88.4%, calculated as the methyl esters) was made up of 8 components: oleic 29%, palmitic 21%, myristic 9%, linoleic 7%, stearic 7%, lauric 7%, isooleic 7%, andpalmit-oleic 2% of the total. However, at least 30 other acids were seen in minor amounts, odd-numbered and branched-chain acids as well as a wide variety of C19-29 unsaturated acids. The 2 complementary methods of analysis produced results in reasonable agreement. The fatty acid composition of milks of mothers in the early and late post-partum periods were very similar, although the fat concentrations of the samples differed greatly. The similarities in milk-fatty acid patterns of the in- and out-patients were probably due in part to similarities in the quality of dietary fat ingested by the 2 groups. However, in addition, the existence of a pool intermediate between dietary fat and milk fat is postulated, which acts to buffer radical changes in milk-fatty acid composition under ordinary circumstances.