Boron Concentrations in Milk from Mothers of Exclusively Breast-Fed Healthy Full-Term Infants Are Stable during the First Four Months of Lactation,

Abstract

Because boron is a bioactive element that satisfies several of the criteria for essentiality in humans, the aim of the present work was to determine the profile of boron metabolism in human milk during the first 4 mo of lactation. The concentration of boron and other minerals was determined in archived milk collected (1980-84) 1 time/mo for 4 mo from lactating mothers of full-term, exclusively breast-fed infants living in Houston, TX. A linear model (treating month as a continuous variable) indicated that B concentrations were stable (P = 0.14) between mo 1 [3.88 +/- 0.6 mumol (42 +/- 6.5 microg)/L milk] and 4 [3.24 +/- 0.6 micromol (35 +/- 6.5 microg)/L milk, mean +/- SEM]. Mg concentrations increased slightly over time (1.18 +/- 0.09 to 1.36 +/- 0.09 mmol/L, P < 0.0001), whereas Ca concentrations decreased slightly (7.01 +/- 0.29 to 6.68 +/- 0.29 mmol/L milk, P < 0.02) and Zn decreased substantially (0.04 +/- 0.004 to 0.02 +/- 0.004 mmol/L milk, P < 0.0001). Similarities in findings reported here and earlier (from samples collected in St. John's, Newfoundland) provide further evidence that boron may be metabolically regulated. Future investigations of boron regulatory mechanisms should focus on metabolism of bone as the major storage site of B and kidney excretion, the major excretory route for B.

Medical image of the week: acute pneumonitis secondary to boric acid exposure

“…b Rainey et al 2002(CSFII 1994 6. POTENTIAL FOR HUMAN EXPOSURE is also found in infant formula (120 μg/L) and expressed human breast milk (10-100 μg/L) (Hunt and Meacham 2001;Hunt et al 2004Hunt et al , 2005Lopez-Garcia et al 2009). Minoia et al (1994) determined the concentrations of various elements in beverages available in Italy.…”

“…The concentration of boron was determined in archived milk collected (1980)(1981)(1982)(1983)(1984) from lactating mothers of full-term, exclusively breastfed infants living in Houston, Texas. The results indicated that infants were supplied average concentrations of 42±6.5 µg/L at 1 month old and 35±6.5 µg/L at 4 months old via breast milk (Hunt et al 2005). Hunt et al (2004Hunt et al ( , 2005 indicated that boron concentrations over the first 4 months of lactating did not vary widely and were stable over time.…”

“…Hunt et al (2004Hunt et al ( , 2005 indicated that boron concentrations over the first 4 months of lactating did not vary widely and were stable over time. The highest concentrations of boron detected in each study were 88 µg/L (Hunt et al 2005) and 100 µg/L (Hunt et al 2004).…”

Dietary Boron: Evidence for Essentiality and Homeostatic Control in Humans and Animals

“…For example, human milk boron concentrations are under apparent homeostatic control. Concentrations of boron in milk from mothers of exclusively breast-fed healthy full-term infants in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada , and Houston, TX, USA (Hunt et al 2005) did not vary widely and were stable over the first four months of lactation (Figure 1). Mean concentrations of milk boron were similar between the test populations (Houston: 39 µg [3.61 µmol]/L; St. John's: 29 µg [2.68 µmol]/L) despite probable differences in dietary boron intake.…”

Essential trace element analysis of human breast milk

“…Little is known about the speciation of boron in food. Boron concentrations in term human milk has been reported as stable between the first and fourth months postpartum with mean and SD concentrations of 42 ± 6.5 µg/L and 35 ± 6.5 µg/L, respectively (124). It has been suggested that stable milk boron concentrations over time imply homeostatic regulation of boron in human body (125).…”