Role of lipidomics in assessing the functional lipid composition in breast milk

Abstract

Breast milk is the ideal source of nutrients for infants in early life. Lipids represent 2–5% of the total breast milk composition and are a major energy source providing 50% of an infant’s energy intake. Functional lipids are an emerging class of lipids in breast milk mediating several different biological functions, health, and developmental outcome. Lipidomics is an emerging field that studies the structure and function of lipidome. It provides the ability to identify new signaling molecules, mechanisms underlying physiological activities, and possible biomarkers for early diagnosis and prognosis of diseases, thus laying the foundation for individualized, targeted, and precise nutritional management strategies. This emerging technique can be useful to study the major role of functional lipids in breast milk in several dimensions. Functional lipids are consumed with daily food intake; however, they have physiological benefits reported to reduce the risk of disease. Functional lipids are a new area of interest in lipidomics, but very little is known of the functional lipidome in human breast milk. In this review, we focus on the role of lipidomics in assessing functional lipid composition in breast milk and how lipid bioinformatics, a newly emerging branch in this field, can help to determine the mechanisms by which breast milk affects newborn health.

The role of human milk nutrients in preventing necrotizing enterocolitis

“…Breast milk lipids are important in supporting a diverse array of physiologic functions in early life, such as organogenesis, lipid membrane development, and signaling molecule synthesis (12). Long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAs) are a class of bioactive lipids that are predominately acquired during the third trimester of pregnancy (13).…”

Human Milk Lipids and Small Metabolites: Maternal and Microbial Origins

“…To the best of our knowledge, the latest article reviewing similar content was published in 2013, focusing on the impact of maternal nutrition and genetics on human milk fatty acids [ 24 ]. Since then, many other lipids and small metabolites have been identified in human milk, and vast advancements have been made in human milk research techniques, including sample collection and storage [ 25 ], DNA and lipid extraction [ 26 , 27 , 28 ], mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance [ 29 , 30 ], DNA sequencing [ 31 ], and cell sequencing [ 32 ]. Thus, there is a need currently to review recent evidence regarding the origins of human milk lipids and small metabolites.…”

Endothelial Slc35a1 Deficiency Causes Loss of LSEC Identity and Exacerbates Neonatal Lipid Deposition in the Liver in Mice

“…During the neonatal period, the liver of a newborn encounters enormous challenges, including the cessation of the umbilical vein supply and high-fat metabolic stress caused by consumption of breast milk, which requires the liver to metabolize these lipids efficiently. 39 , 40 It is unclear how the maturing liver at birth adapts to high lipid metabolism and whether the hepatic vasculature is involved in this process.…”