Abstract
The major fraction of the vitamin A activity in human milk occurs as fatty acid esters of retinol, although little is known about the type of fatty acids incorporated. In the present study, individual retinol esters and free retinol of human milk were analyzed by an appropriate HPLC method using fluorimetric detection. Milk samples were obtained from 8 mothers at days 3, 15 and 36 of lactation. The content of esterified retinol expressed as retinol equivalents decreased from 158 μg/100 ml at day 3 to 46 μg/100 ml at day 15 and to 50 μg/100 ml at day 36 (medians, n = 8). Differences between days 3 and 15 as well as between days 3 and 36 were statistically significant (p < 0.05). The retinol esters of palmitate, oleate, stearate and linoleate accounted for 90 % of total retinol esters and were present in almost equal proportions at all study days. Furthermore, always about 5 % of total retinol occured in the unesterified form.
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Haug, M., Burke, M., Harzer, G. et al. 104 RETINOL ESTERS IN HUMAN MILK. Pediatr Res 20, 1051 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198610000-00159
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198610000-00159