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[Literature library] Human milk oligosaccharide concentration throughout lactation

Public health
3 min read

Over 200 human milk oligosaccharide (HMO) structures have been identified and this recent review article provides an overview of HMO levels from healthy women throughout lactation.

57 peer-reviewed articles were analyzed and a summary as below:

  • Total HMO levels were:
    • Colostrum (0-5 days): 17.7 g/L
    • Transitional milk (6-14 days): 13.3 g/L
    • Mature milk (15-90 days): 11.3 g/L
       
  • HMO levels differed greatly for individual HMO and varied throughout different lactational stage, e.g.
    • 2’-FL significantly dropped from colostrum to late milk
    • 3-FL significantly increased from colostrum to late milk
       
  • Pooled human milk consisted of a diverse HMO profile with over 200 structures, but the top 10 HMOs contributed over 70% of total HMO
     
  • Top HMOs in descending order of magnitude:
    1. 2’-FL
    2. LNDFH-I (DFLNT)
    3. LNFP-I
    4. LNFP-II
    5. LNT
    6. 3-FL
    7. 6’-SL
    8. DSLNT
    9. LNnT
    10. DFL (LDFT)
    11. FDS-LNH
    12. LNFP-III
    13. 3’-SL
    14. LST c
    15. TF-LNH
       

Abbreviations:
2’-FL = 2′-Fucosyllactose; LNDFH-I (DFLNT) = Lacto-N-difucohexaose I (or Difucosyllacto-N-Tetraose); LNFP-I = Lacto-N-Fucopentaose I; LNFP-I = Lacto-N-Fucopentaose II;  LNT = Lacto-N-Tetraose; 3-FL = 3-Fucosyllactose; 6’-SL = 6’-Sialyllactose; DSLNT = Disialyllacto-N-Tetraose; LNnT = Lacto-N-Neotetraose; DFL (LDFT) = Difucosyllactose (Lactodifucotetraose); FDS-LNH = Fucosyl-Disialyl-Lacto-N-Hexaose; LNFP-III = Lacto-N-Fucopentaose III; 3’-SL = 3’-Sialyllactose; LST c = Sialyllacto-N-Neotetraose c; TF-LNH = Trifucosyllacto-N-Hexaose

 

Link to the full article:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8398195/pdf/nutrients-13-02737.pdf
 

WYE-EM-162-SEP-21

Reference

Soyyılmaz B et al. The mean of milk: A review of human milk oligosaccharide concentrations throughout lactation. Nutrients. 2021;13(8):2737.
 

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