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Human milk macronutrient analysis using point-of-care near-infrared spectrophotometry

Journal of Perinatology volume 31, pages 339–343 (2011)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Objective:

To demonstrate that the real-time nutritional analysis of human milk carbohydrate, fat and protein with near-infrared (NIR) spectrophotometric methods is accurate.

Study Design:

A prospective study of the measurement of the macronutrient content of human milk. Milk was first analyzed on the SpectraStar 2400 Near Infrared Analyzer (Unity Scientific, Columbia, MD, USA), and then sent for primary chemical analysis for fat, protein and carbohydrate. Forty-two samples were used to create a calibration file. Ten samples were then used to validate the machine.

Result:

After logistic regression analysis, the validation set had a correlation (r2) of 0.91 for carbohydrates, 0.95 for fat and 0.95 for protein.

Conclusion:

This study demonstrates the feasibility of the use of NIR for nutrient analysis of human milk. NIR offers the potential for analysis and adjustable fortification of human milk to optimize nutrient intake for the high-risk neonate.

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Acknowledgements

We thank all the dedicated mothers who participated in this study. We thank Thomas Brown (Unity Scientific) and Unity Scientific Inc. for assisting in creating the calibration file. This study was funded in part by a fellowship research grant from MedImmune, LLC.

Author contributions

All co-authors have read, approved and concurred with the submitted manuscript. All persons designated as authors who made substantial contributions to the conception and design, execution or analysis and interpretation of data were involved in the drafting of the manuscript, and approved the manuscript as submitted. None of the original material contained in the manuscript has been previously published nor is currently under review for publication elsewhere.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA

    C W Sauer & J H Kim

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  1. C W Sauer
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Correspondence to J H Kim.

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Sauer, C., Kim, J. Human milk macronutrient analysis using point-of-care near-infrared spectrophotometry. J Perinatol 31, 339–343 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/jp.2010.123

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