Vitamin E concentration in breast milk in different periods of lactation: Meta-analysis

Abstract

ObjectiveThis study systematized information about vitamin E concentration in healthy breast milk during different stages of lactation in order to support the strategies of protecting postpartum women and infants.MethodsStudies published before April 30th, 2021, which detected vitamin E concentration in breast milk of healthy women by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) or Ultra High Performance Liquid Chromatographic (UHPLC), were evaluated. The databases of CNKI (Chinese), WanFang Data (Chinese), VIP (Chinese), PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science and Embase were searched. The random effect models were used to conduct meta-analysis by the statistical software package Stata 14.0.ResultsIn all 4,791 searched publications, 53 with full text were selected, which included 46 descriptive studies, 1 case-control study, 1 non-randomized controlled trial, and 5 randomized controlled trials. The pooled mean of vitamin E concentration was 10.57 mg α-TE/L (95%CI 8.94–12.20) in colostrum, 4.03 mg α-TE/L (95%CI 3.29–4.77) in transitional milk and 3.29 mg α-TE/L (95%CI 2.95–3.64) in mature milk. Subgroup analysis showed that vitamin E concentration of colostrum in Asian countries was lower than that in Western countries in colostrum and transitional milk.ConclusionsVitamin E concentration in breast milk decreased during lactation until the mature milk was produced. The vitamin E concentration of colostrum in Asian countries was evidently lower than that in Western countries. The vitamin E concentration in mature milk is similar in different regions. The concentration of vitamin E in breast milk started to be stable from about 2 to 3 weeks postpartum until 4 or 6 months postpartum, but it needs additional evidence to support.

Longitudinal Changes in Human Milk Minerals and Vitamins in the Chinese Population: A Scoping Review

“…By contrast, the levels of total fat and oligosaccharides such as 3 ′ -fucosyllactose increase throughout lactation [4,5]. Presumably, the dynamics surrounding the intake of human milk components indicate the precise needs for nutrients Nutrients 2024, 16, 1710 2 of 17 of infants. For instance, concentrations of human milk total amino acids, which are the building blocks of infant body tissue, in 5-6 months of lactation are about two thirds of those available in the first month [6].…”

“…However, there are only a few review studies that have specifically investigated the longitudinal changes in minerals and vitamins in human milk. For instance, Dror et al focused on iodine and vitamin B-12 [ 13 , 14 ], Zhang H et al examined vitamin A [ 15 ], Xi Y et al reported on vitamin E [ 16 ], and Gidrewicz et al provided data on calcium and phosphorus from 1 to 12 postnatal weeks [ 17 ]. Another study by Yang et al surveyed nine minerals, but they only analyzed milk samples beyond 2 postnatal weeks: by then, the samples contain mature milk.…”