Abstract
Human milk contains glycoproteins, glycolipids and oligo-polysaccharides. The purpose of this study was to investigate the presence of some acid glycohydrolases which are involved in the degradation of such molecules. Alpha-fucosidase, alpha-mannosidase, betagalactosidase, betaglucuronidase and beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase were studied in colostrum and serum from 25 mothers using methylumbellipheryl-glucoside derivatives as substrates.
Resu1ts:a)human colostrum contained all the five glycohydrolases tested;b)after centrifugation each enzyme was present in both the supernatant and the cellular sediment;c)for each subject the enzymatic activities were higher in the supernatant of colostrum than in serum.
Conclusions: 1)the presence of alpha-fucosidase, alpha-man-nosidase, beta-galactosidase and beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase in human colostrum, which we have demonstrated, has not yet, to our knowledge, been described;2)a process of passive diffusion of such enzymes from serum to the mammary gland seems to be unlikely;3) acid hydrolases could be involved in the metabolism of complex carbohydrates molecules contained in human milk.
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Coppa, G., Catassi, C., Felici, L. et al. 90. ACID GLYCOHYDROLASES IN HUMAN COLOSTRUM. Pediatr Res 22, 111 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198707000-00111
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198707000-00111