Influence of sampling on fatty acid composition of human milk

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Abstract
To study effects of sampling on the fat and fatty acid composition of human milk, three subjects each obtained four complete expressions of milk in sequential fractions from each breast. Two subjects collected partial expressions of about 5 ml of milk from each breast frequently over a 2-month period. Milk samples were analyzed gravimetrically for fat and by gas chromatography for the fatty acids 10:0, 12:0, 14:0, 14:1, 16:0, 16:1, 18:0, 18:1, and 18:2. While hindmilk contained a higher percentage of fat than foremilk, fatty acid composition of the milk fat did not vary throughout a nursing. Fatty acid composition from pairs of left and right breast samples collected at the same nursing did not differ. Therefore, fatty acid analyses of human milk will be representative of the entire nursing if the sample is taken from either breast at any time during the nursing.

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