Abstract
Sulphur is an essential part of certain mucopolysaccharides and forms salts with important steroid molecules such as bile acids and vitamin D. The sulphur source is mainly cysteine either present in the diet or formed from dietary methionine.
Aspects of sulphur metabolism have been studied in low birth weight babies receiving varying amounts of cysteine. Babies receiving the higher cysteine intake from a cows milk formula excreted less urea, more sulphate, and had a lower urinary cystathionine:cysteine ratio. Unlike babies receiving breast milk, however, duodenal bile acids were conjugated predominantly with glycine rather than taurine.
These observations are compatible with the known immaturity of the transulphuration pathway but show that this immaturity is still evident at 3 weeks of age in low birth weight babies. These observations may have implications for the adviseable diet of the newborn.
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Wharton, B., Scott, P. & Berger, H. Aspects of sulphur metabolism in low birth weight babies: 35. Pediatr Res 14, 171 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198002000-00062
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198002000-00062