Numerous dietary factors have been shown to influence the fatty acid profiles (FAP)
in breast milk from lactating women. However, few studies have evaluated the effect of trace
minerals on milk FAP. Consequently, the purpose of this study was to determine the effect
of selenium status on the FAP in breast milk. Subjects were lactating women from three
different regions in China; Xichang (n=21), an area where selenium intakes are among the
lowest in the world, Beijing (n=20), where there are adequate selenium intakes, and Enshi
(n=19), where selenium intakes are among the highest in the world. Plasma and milk samples
were obtained from women at birth of their baby and within 10 months postpartum and
analyzed for selenium content, glutathione peroxidase (Gpx) activity and FAP. Plasma and
breast milk selenium levels were significantly lower in the Xichang women and significantly
higher in the Enshi women when compared to Beijing women. Despite the fact that the
highest level of plasma selenium was measured in the samples from Enshi, the Gpx activity
was greatest in the samples from Beijing; there was no effect of time of sampling on these
samples. In breast milk, on the other hand, all the samples obtained at birth had similar
activity of Gpx. The samples taken later, however, followed the same trend as plasma with
the samples obtained from the women in Beijing having the highest activity. FAP indicated
a significant difference in the amount of unsaturated fatty acids in both the plasma and milk
for the Beijing women, when compared to the women from Xichang and Enshi. In particular,
there were higher levels of linoleic acid, 18:2(n-6), in the plasma and milk of the women
whose selenium intake was adequate. / Graduation date: 1997
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ORGSU/oai:ir.library.oregonstate.edu:1957/27460 |
| Date | 25 April 1997 |
| Creators | Dodge, Marcie L. |
| Contributors | Wander, Rosemary |
| Source Sets | Oregon State University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
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