Insulin, Testosterone, and Albumin in Term and Preterm Breast Milk, Donor Milk, and Infant Formula

Abstract

Background: Infants have three options for feeding: their own mother’s breast milk, donor milk, or infant formula. Insulin, testosterone, total protein, and albumin levels were measured in breast milk samples from the first 6 months of lactation, in donor milk samples, and in different infant formulas. Methods: Mothers who gave birth to term (n = 19) or preterm (n = 19) infants were recruited to collect breast milk samples during the first 6 months of lactation. The Breast Milk Collection Center (Unified Health Institution, Pécs, Hungary) provided 96 donor milk (DM) samples for analysis in our study. Insulin, testosterone, total protein, and albumin levels were measured in breast milk, donor milk, and infant formulas. Results: During the first 2 months of lactation, the concentration of insulin was lower (−27.4%) while the testosterone concentration was higher (+20.8%) compared to the period between the 3rd and 6th months only in the preterm breast milk samples. The infant formulas examined did not contain insulin or testosterone. Holder pasteurization (HoP) did not influence the level of testosterone in human milk, although HoP decreased the insulin (−53.6%) and albumin (−38.6%) concentrations. Conclusions: Diet impacts the hormone intake of infants, underlining the importance of breastfeeding and the possible supplementation of formula-fed infants.

The Effect of Holder Pasteurization and Different Variants on Breast Milk Antioxidants

“…These results suggest that other factors may influence the calcium content of BM. The total protein level of BM was not affected by HoP in our present study, in agreement with previous reports [23,46,47].…”

“…Also, it is known to be a rich source of glutathione, which contributes to the antioxidant protection provided to infants during breastfeeding. Numerous studies have proven the differences between own mother's milk, donor milk, and infant formula [22,23]. All of them reported poorer bioactive factor, hormone, and immunoglobulin content in formula compared to donor milk or own mother's milk.…”

Circadian Variation in Human Milk Hormones and Macronutrients

“…Interestingly, commercial milk formula has constant component concentrations, while HM components have variable concentrations and intakes over time. Studies comparing HM with commercial milk formula found that the latter does not contain leptin, insulin, testosterone, thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) or thyroxine [46][47][48]. The role of circadian rhythms of HM leptin, insulin, adiponectin, glucose, and fat is not known.…”

Effect of Holder Pasteurization, Mode of Delivery, and Infant’s Gender on Fatty Acid Composition of Donor Breast Milk

“…Samples were taken individually and immediately stored at −80 °C, then the donated BM samples were pooled, and Holder pasteurized (30 min at 62.5 °C) at the Unified Health Institution (Pécs, Hungary) ( Figure 1 ). Three samples were taken from the holder pasteurized donor milk pool and stored at −80 °C until further analysis, similar to our previous works [ 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 ]. Then, 3–4 mL aliquots were taken with a sterile pipette and placed into microtubes (Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany).…”

“…For infants who rely on pasteurized donor milk for various reasons, including prematurity or medical conditions or their own mother’s milk is not available, pasteurized donor milk ensures safety and nutritional support [ 28 ]. Holder pasteurization (HoP) is knowingly influencing the composition of BM [ 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 ], although when the mother’s own milk is not available this is the recommended feeding form [ 34 ]. The present work is focused on providing information about the general FA composition of BM and DM, to optimize nutritional supplementation of newborns.…”