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Sialic acid in human milk and infant formulas in China: concentration, distribution and type

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 January 2024

Youping Lv Open the ORCID record for Youping Lv [Opens in a new window] ,
Xinyue Wang ,
Jiale Huang ,
Wei Zhang ,
Meizhen Zhu ,
Kelsang Dekyi ,
Yichen Zhang ,
Linxi Zheng  and
Hongwei Li Open the ORCID record for Hongwei Li [Opens in a new window]
Youping Lv
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Vaccines for Infectious Diseases, Xiang An Biomedicine Laboratory, State Key Laboratory of Molecular Vaccinology and Molecular Diagnostics, National Innovation Platform for Industry-Education Integration in Vaccine Research, School of Public Health, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian Province, 361102, People’s Republic of China Quanzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Quanzhou, Fujian Province, 362000, People’s Republic of China
Xinyue Wang
Affiliation:
Department of Nutrition, Zhongshan Hospital (Xiamen), Fudan University, Xiamen, Fujian Province, 361015, People’s Republic of China Xiamen Clinical Research Center for Cancer Therapy, Xiamen, Fujian Province, 361015, People’s Republic of China
Jiale Huang
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Nutrition, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, 330006, People’s Republic of China
Wei Zhang
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Vaccines for Infectious Diseases, Xiang An Biomedicine Laboratory, State Key Laboratory of Molecular Vaccinology and Molecular Diagnostics, National Innovation Platform for Industry-Education Integration in Vaccine Research, School of Public Health, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian Province, 361102, People’s Republic of China
Meizhen Zhu
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Vaccines for Infectious Diseases, Xiang An Biomedicine Laboratory, State Key Laboratory of Molecular Vaccinology and Molecular Diagnostics, National Innovation Platform for Industry-Education Integration in Vaccine Research, School of Public Health, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian Province, 361102, People’s Republic of China
Kelsang Dekyi
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Vaccines for Infectious Diseases, Xiang An Biomedicine Laboratory, State Key Laboratory of Molecular Vaccinology and Molecular Diagnostics, National Innovation Platform for Industry-Education Integration in Vaccine Research, School of Public Health, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian Province, 361102, People’s Republic of China
Yichen Zhang
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Vaccines for Infectious Diseases, Xiang An Biomedicine Laboratory, State Key Laboratory of Molecular Vaccinology and Molecular Diagnostics, National Innovation Platform for Industry-Education Integration in Vaccine Research, School of Public Health, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian Province, 361102, People’s Republic of China
Linxi Zheng
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Vaccines for Infectious Diseases, Xiang An Biomedicine Laboratory, State Key Laboratory of Molecular Vaccinology and Molecular Diagnostics, National Innovation Platform for Industry-Education Integration in Vaccine Research, School of Public Health, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian Province, 361102, People’s Republic of China
Hongwei Li*
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Vaccines for Infectious Diseases, Xiang An Biomedicine Laboratory, State Key Laboratory of Molecular Vaccinology and Molecular Diagnostics, National Innovation Platform for Industry-Education Integration in Vaccine Research, School of Public Health, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian Province, 361102, People’s Republic of China
*
*Corresponding author: Hongwei Li, email rocque@xmu.edu.cn
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Abstract

This study compared the concentrations, types and distributions of sialic acid (SA) in human milk at different stages of the postnatal period with those in a range of infant formulas. Breast milk from mothers of healthy, full-term and exclusively breastfed infants was collected on the 2nd (n 246), 7th (n 135), 30th (n 85) and 90th (n 48) day after birth. The SA profiles of human milk, including their distribution, were analysed and compared with twenty-four different infant formulas. Outcome of this observational study was the result of natural exposure. Only SA of type Neu5Ac was detected in human milk. Total SA concentrations were highest in colostrum and reduced significantly over the next 3 months. Approximately 68·7–76·1 % of all SA in human milk were bound to oligosaccharides. Two types of SA, Neu5Ac and Neu5Gc, have been detected in infant formulas. Most SA was present in infant formulas combined with protein. Breastfed infants could receive more SA than formula-fed infants with the same energy intake. Overall, human milk is a preferable source of SA than infant formulas in terms of total SA content, dynamics, distribution and type. These SA profiles in the natural state are worth to be considered by the production of formulas because they may have a great effect on infant nutrition and development.

Keywords

Neu5AcNeu5GcHuman milk oligosaccharidesInfant formulaChina
Type
Research Article
Information
British Journal of Nutrition , Volume 131 , Issue 9 , 14 May 2024 , pp. 1506 - 1512
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Nutrition Society

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Footnotes

†

These authors contributed equally.

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