Macromolecular Absorption in Preterm and Term Infants

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Abstract
Human .alpha.-lactalbumin (.alpha.-LA) has been used as a marker for measuring macromolecular absorption. The serum concentration of human .alpha.-LA after a human milk feed has been studied in 32 healthy very low-birthweight infants (VLBW), fed human milk (gestational age 26-32 weeks) and in 56 term, breast-fed infants, age 3-140 days. At 31 weeks of gestation the serum concentration of human .alpha.-LA was more then 10 times higher (mean value 3000 and median value 2101 .mu.g/l serum/l human milk/kg body weight, n=11) than in the term infants aged 3-30 days (mean value 257 and median value 152, n=29). The serum concentration of .alpha.-LA decreased with increasing maturity in the VLBW-infants. At a postconceptional age of 37 weeks the values were similar (mean value 200 and median value 99, n = 8) to those found for term infants during the first month. In the term infants a decreasing absorption of .alpha.-LA was found with increasing postnatal age.