Abstract
To elucidate the possible biological function of gangliosides in human milk, the content and composition of gangliosides in human milk during lactation were examined. Gangliosides were rich in human milk at the earlier stages of lactation. Themajor ganglioside was GD3. The content of GD3 decreased, while that of GM3 increased in the later stages of lactation. GDla, and poiysialogangliosides were rich in the milk at 6 days of postpartum. Levels of sialic acid and sialidase, a ganglioside-hydrolyzing enzyme, were also studied. The content of sialic acid and sialidase activity were decreased in the later stages of lactation. As the results, GD3, GDIa, polysialogangliosides, sialic acids (lipid-bound and protein-bound), and sialidase were rich in human colostrum and these components may play a role in immune system.
Similar content being viewed by others
Article PDF
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
About this article
Cite this article
Eom, M., Yoon, H. & Jhon, G. Changes of gangliosides and sialic acid in human milk during lactation. Exp Mol Med 28, 29–32 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1038/emm.1996.5
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/emm.1996.5