Human Milk Lipids

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Abstract
Milk specimens were obtained from mothers in Tanganyika, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon, and examined for their fatty acid content. It was found that the high dietary intake of carbohydrate of the Tanganyikan mothers was related to high laurie and mynistic acid levels, and low linoleic and palmitic acid levels in the milk. When linoleic acid forms a considerable percentage of the dietary fat, in the absence of excessive amounts of carbohydrate, a milk with a high level of linoleic acid is produced. Other dietary fatty acids consumed normally have little effect on the fatty acid composition of milk. Our results indicate that palmitic acid in human milk is derived mainly from extramammary lipid.