EQUIVALENCE OF PASTEURIZED AND FRESH HUMAN MILK IN PROMOTING NITROGEN RETENTION BY NORMAL FULL-TERM INFANTS

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Abstract
Twenty-nine nitrogen balance studies were performed with 10 normal full-term infants fed fresh human milk either from the breast (eight nitrogen balance studies with four infants) or by bottle. Six of the infants (Group I) were solely breast-fed before and between the metabolic balance periods. Four infants (Group II) were fed pasteurized human milk before and between the metabolic balance periods during which fresh human milk was fed. The mean intake of nitrogen by the infants fed fresh human milk was less than that of previously studied infants who received pasteurized human milk. Reasons for the smaller mean intakes of nitrogen by infants of Group I may have included voluntary decrease in volume of intake on the part of infants because of time unfamiliar environment or because milk was fed from a bottle. An additional factor may have been decreased supply of milk by the mother (and possibly decreased concentration of nitrogen in the milk) because of altered conditions for nursing and multiple trips to the Metabolism Ward. Decreased concentrations of nitrogen in the milk fed to infants of Group II may have resulted from longer duration of lactation of the women providing the milk and greater volume of milk produced. The relation of retention of nitrogen to intake of nitrogen was the same for infants fed fresh human milk as had been found for those fed pasteurized human milk. Four of the infants (Group II) studied while receiving fresh human milk by bottle were also studied while receiving pasteurized human milk. Intakes and retentions of nitrogen were similar with both feedings. The literature concerning nitrogen balance studies of full-term infants was reviewed. Mean intakes and retentions of nitrogen are similar to those of the present study but considerably greater variability was encountered, as might be expected in view of the lack of uniformity of experimental conditions among the different studies. Processing (pasteurization and freezing) of human milk apparently does not alter its nutritional properties in such a way as to affect nitrogen balance of infants. It is concluded that the retentions of nitrogen of the infants fed processed human milk in the previous study may be considered representative of the retentions of nitrogen by normal breast-fed infants.
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