Manganese intake and serum manganese concentration of human milk-fed and formula-fed infants

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Abstract
Manganese (Mn) status was determined in 24 infants exclusively fed either human milk (n = 8) or formula (n = 16) from birth to 3 months. Mn intakes were estimated from test weighings, dietary records, and direct analyses of human milk and formula via graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Mean human milk Mn concentrations significantly decreased (p < 0.05) with the progression of lactation, from 6.6 µg/L during the 1st month of lactation, to 3.5 µg/L by the 3rd month of lactation. Infant formulas were observed to contain considerably higher levels of Mn (70.0 to 1289.0 µg/L) than either human milk (x̄ = 4.9 µg/L) or cows' milk (x̄ = 25.2 µg/L). At 3 months, human milk-fed infants consumed a smaller volume of milk (689.0 ml) than formula-fed infants (894.0 ml), and also received significantly less Mn (0.42 µg/kg/day) than formula-fed infants (183.22 µg/kg/day). Mean sera Mn concentrations of infants receiving human milk or formula were similar, with mean values of 4.4 and 4.7 µg/L, respectively. Manganese intakes of human milk-fed infants were found to be linearly correlated (r = 0.78) with the respective serum Mn concentration at 3 months of age.