Abstract
X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF) was examined as a tool for quantitative analysis of trace metals of biological importance in human milk. The validity of XRF was demonstrated by study of within day, day to day, and operator to operator variability with an accuracy of > 97%. Standard curves were constructed for Ca, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu and Zn and were highly significant (r ≥ 0.99). Correlation of results to atomic absorption spectrophotometry was excellent.
Forty women provided 250 samples of human milk obtained from 2-359 days of lactation. Trace metals were segregated almost exclusively in the aqueous fraction of milk. Ca, the only major metal analyzed, was found in fairly constant concentration throughout lactation, 25-40 mg/dl. Fe, Cu, and Zn concentrations declined during lactation; this decline was most marked during the first 30 days. There was a 10-fold decrease in milk zinc concentrations by 6 months of lactation. The physiologic significance of these findings is unclear. It does not appear to be a dilutional effect but may reflect a change in maternal nutritional status, or, teleologically, a change in infant nutritional requirements based on improved assimilation of trace metals.
The advantages of XRF for quantitation and screening of trace elements in human milk are 1) accurate, simultaneous analysis of multiple elements from a single sample 2) ease of sample preparation which limits contamination risk 3) non-destructive analysis which permits repeated analysis of a single sample.
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Palma, P., Caprioli, R. & Howell, R. 617 HUMAN MILK TRACE METALS – APPLICATION OF X-RAY FLUORESCENCE SPECTROMETRY TO QUANTITATION AND SCREENING. Pediatr Res 15 (Suppl 4), 543 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198104001-00630
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198104001-00630