Subscriber access provided by UNIV OF NEW ENGLAND ARMIDALE
Agricultural and Environmental Chemistry
Fatty acid profile and the sn-2 position distribution in triacylglycerols of breast milk during different lactation stage Ce Qi, Jin Sun, Yuan Xia, Renqiang Yu, wei wei, Jingying Xiang, Qingzhe Jin, Hang Xiao, and Xing-Guo Wang J. Agric. Food Chem., Just Accepted Manuscript • DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.8b01085 • Publication Date (Web): 10 Mar 2018 Downloaded from http://pubs.acs.org on March 13, 2018
Just Accepted “Just Accepted” manuscripts have been peer-reviewed and accepted for publication. They are posted online prior to technical editing, formatting for publication and author proofing. The American Chemical Society provides “Just Accepted” as a service to the research community to expedite the dissemination of scientific material as soon as possible after acceptance. “Just Accepted” manuscripts appear in full in PDF format accompanied by an HTML abstract. “Just Accepted” manuscripts have been fully peer reviewed, but should not be considered the official version of record. They are citable by the Digital Object Identifier (DOI®). “Just Accepted” is an optional service offered to authors. Therefore, the “Just Accepted” Web site may not include all articles that will be published in the journal. After a manuscript is technically edited and formatted, it will be removed from the “Just Accepted” Web site and published as an ASAP article. Note that technical editing may introduce minor changes to the manuscript text and/or graphics which could affect content, and all legal disclaimers and ethical guidelines that apply to the journal pertain. ACS cannot be held responsible for errors or consequences arising from the use of information contained in these “Just Accepted” manuscripts.
is published by the American Chemical Society. 1155 Sixteenth Street N.W., Washington, DC 20036 Published by American Chemical Society. Copyright © American Chemical Society. However, no copyright claim is made to original U.S. Government works, or works produced by employees of any Commonwealth realm Crown government in the course of their duties.
Page 1 of 37
Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
1
Fatty acid profile and the sn-2 position distribution in triacylglycerols
2
of breast milk during different lactation stage
3
Ce Qi 1*, Jin Sun 1, Yuan Xia 1, Renqiang Yu 2, Wei Wei 1, Jingying Xiang 2, Qingzhe
4
Jin 1, Hang Xiao 3, Xingguo Wang 1*
5
1
6
Province, School of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi
7
214122, Jiangsu, PR China
8
2
Wuxi Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital, Wuxi 214000, PR China
9
3
Department of Food Science and Technology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Collaborative innovation center of food safety and quality control in Jiangsu
10
01003, Massachusetts, USA
11
*
12
Address:
13
Tel: +86-18151559929
14
E-mail address:
[email protected] (Dr. C. Qi);
[email protected] (Dr. X. Wang)
Corresponding author 1800 Lihu Avenue, Wuxi 214122, PR China
1
ACS Paragon Plus Environment
Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
15
ABSTRACT
16
Fatty acid (FA) is the major energy resource in breast milk, which is important
17
for infant development. FAs profiles with sn-2 positional preference were important
18
part of triacylglycerols due to their better availability. It was still not replicated in
19
artificial formulas. This study quantified the FAs profile of total and sn-2 position in
20
human breast milk samples from 103 healthy volunteers during colostrum,
21
transitional and mature stages. Multicomponent analysis showed significant
22
differences in FAs profiles of different lactation periods, due to that with relative
23
percentage less than 1%. Linoleic acid (LA), mostly located at the sn-1,3 positions of
24
TAGs, was more common in the milk of Chinese women than in western. The
25
majority of the breast milk did not meet the standard for the ratio of LA/α-linolenic
26
acid for infant formula. FAs related to brain development, mainly at sn-2 in TAGs,
27
were enriched in colostrum. Capric and lauric acids were enriched in transitional and
28
mature breast milk, and capric acid showed sn-1,3 selectivity in TAGs. This study
29
will aid the development of infant formula containing TAGs more similar to human
30
breast milk.
31
Key words: Breast milk, colostrum, transitional milk, mature milk, total fatty acids,
32
sn-2 fatty acids
2
ACS Paragon Plus Environment
Page 2 of 37
Page 3 of 37
Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
33
Introduction
34
Breast milk is the best natural food for the neonate, and the World Health
35
Organization (WHO) recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months of
36
life because the nutrients in breast milk influence the growth and health of infants 1.
37
Triacylglycerols (TAGs), the major energy resource in breast milk, are important for
38
infant development. The fatty acids (FAs) composition of the milk TAGs correlates
39
with that in the plasma and tissues of the breast-fed infant 2. The positional
40
distribution of the FAs in the TAGs of human breast milk is also important. Studies
41
on the TAGs in the milk of the Western population revealed that palmitic acid (PA;
42
C16:0) is mainly located at the sn-2 position of the TAGs, whereas unsaturated FAs
43
(UFAs), especially oleic acid (C18:1 n-9), typically occupied the sn-1/sn-3 positions
44
3
45
∼21%) and oleic–palmitic–linoleic (OPL; ∼17%) 4. This unique FA distribution
46
enables optimized uptake of calcium, fat, and energy in infants, and is even important
47
for the development of the microbiome 5.
. The major TAG species in mature human milk are oleic–palmitic–oleic (OPO;
48
The FAs composition and positional distribution in TAGs are key factors in
49
determining the nutritional value of infant formula. Recently, we comprehensively
50
evaluated the FAs compositions of commercial formulas on the Chinese market in a
51
statistically meaningful sample size. The data revealed that, although commercial
52
formulas had similar compositions of the major FAs (>1%) to human breast milk, the
53
levels of some micro-FAs were lower 6. The positional distribution of the FAs in
54
formulas is markedly different from that in human breast milk, even though some 3
ACS Paragon Plus Environment
Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
Page 4 of 37
55
formulas are supplemented with OPO. Therefore, manufacturers should take greater
56
care with the FAs profiles and stereochemical distributions of FAs in commercial
57
formulas.
58
Human milk has long been the leading reference in the development of
59
commercial formulas. However, the optimal composition of TAGs in formula
60
remains unknown because it is not constant and can be affected by various factors,
61
such as maternal diet
62
regional dietary characteristics in China should be considered when developing
63
commercial formulas for China, where all babies generally receive formula. There
64
have been several reports on the FAs composition of human milk in China
65
However, the sample sizes in some of the studies were too small to facilitate
66
statistically meaningful analysis, and the studies did not consider the stereochemical
67
distribution of the FAs in the TAGs. The Yangtze Delta area is a fast-developing area
68
in China, with typically healthy dietary patterns and great improvements in infant
69
development. Wuxi, a city located in the heart of the Yangtze Delta, is a
70
representative city for the study of ideal breast milk.
7
and stage of lactation 8. Breast milk with representative,
89
.
71
We investigated the total and sn-2 FAs profiles of breast milk from women in
72
Wuxi and compared the profiles during different lactation periods. Our aim was to
73
elucidate the main characteristics of the FAs profile and sn-2 positional distribution
74
of FAs in breast milk from women of the Yangtze Delta area, and to explain the
75
differences to the breast milk from women in Western countries. Our results may
76
prove helpful for the development of infant formula containing TAGs more similar to 4
ACS Paragon Plus Environment
Page 5 of 37
Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
77
human breast milk.
78
Materials and methods
79
Materials
80
Porcine pancreatic lipase (type II) and thin-layer chromatography (TLC) plates
81
were purchased from Sigma–Aldrich (St. Louis, MO, USA). Ammonia solution,
82
ethanol, diethyl ether, petroleum ether, and potassium hydroxide were purchased
83
from Sinopharm Chemical Reagent (Shanghai, China). Methanol (>95.0% purity)
84
and hexane (>99.9% purity) were obtained from J&K Scientific (Beijing, China).
85
The standard mixture of FA methyl esters (FAMEs) was purchased from
86
Sigma–Aldrich (St. Louis, MO, USA). The other solvents and reagents were all of
87
analytical grade (Sinopharm Chemical Reagent, Shanghai, China).
88
Breast milk sample collection
89
The breast milk samples used in this study were from voluntary donors. All
90
participants received detailed information about the study and provided written
91
informed consent; the study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committees of the
92
respective participating institutions (the Medical Research Board of Jiangnan
93
University and Wuxi Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital) (WXM201560). The
94
study group comprised 103 healthy women volunteers from Wuxi, China. They were
95
disease-free, based on medical history and physical examination, and had healthy
96
infants. The times of gestation ranged from 37 to 39 weeks, with a mean of 38.5 5
ACS Paragon Plus Environment
Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
97
weeks. The mean age of the women was 27.86. The mean parity was 1.2. All
98
participants received detailed information about the study and provided written
99
informed consent; the study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committees of the
100
respective participating institutions: the Medical Research Board of Jiangnan
101
University and the Wuxi Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital.
102
Breast milk was collected at approximately day 1–5 (colostrum), day 6–15
103
(transitional milk), and more than 15 days (mature milk) after birth. Before sample
104
collection, the volunteers were given oral and written instructions for standardized
105
sample collection. A portion of whole breast milk was obtained at 10 AM by breast
106
massage. The first drops of milk (approximately 500 µL) were discarded. The
107
samples were kept frozen at −20 °C until delivery to the laboratory, then stored at
108
−80 °C until further analysis. All samples were shipped to Jiangnan University for
109
storage, processing, and lipid analysis.
110
Total lipid extraction from breast milk
111
The extraction of total lipids from breast milk was performed with the Mojonnier
112
method (AOAC, 2000; method 995.19) as modified by Barbano et al. 10. Briefly, we
113
added 1 mL ammonia water into 5 mL breast milk, then mixed thoroughly and
114
incubated the mixture in a water bath at 65 °C ± 5 °C for 20 min. After the mixture
115
cooled, we successively added 5 mL absolute ethanol, 12.5 mL ether, and 12.5 mL
116
ligarine, and mixed to extract the lipids. After the samples were left to stand for at
117
least 1 h, we collected the clear supernatants. The lipids were re-extracted as above,
6
ACS Paragon Plus Environment
Page 6 of 37
Page 7 of 37
Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
118
and the 2 fractions were pooled. The residual solvent was removed by nitrogen
119
blowing.
120
Preparation of FAMEs for chromatographic analysis
121
Milk lipids (10 mg) were suspended in 700 µL n-hexane and 125 µL
122
KOH-CH3OH (2 M). After mixing for 2 min, we added 25 µL sodium methoxide and
123
incubated the blend for 5 min with shaking, then added sodium sulfate and mixed
124
thoroughly. The supernatant was removed after standing and passed through a
125
0.22-µm filter. The resulting FAME was used for analysis by gas chromatography
126
(GC).
127
Preparation of 2-monoacylglycerol and its methyl esters
128
Milk lipids were also hydrolyzed to 2-monoacylglycerol (2-MAG) by means of 11
129
the method described by Sahin et al.
. We added pancreatic lipase (porcine
130
pancreatic lipase, 30 mg), Tris buffer (pH 8.0, 7 mL), bile salts (0.05%, 1.75 mL),
131
and calcium chloride (2.2%, 0.7 mL) to a test tube containing 30 mg fat. The mixture
132
was incubated in a water bath (37 °C) for 3 min with shaking. It was mixed by vortex
133
for 30 s, then incubated at 37 °C for 3 min. It was vortex again and incubated for 2
134
min. After the mixture cooled, we added diethyl ether (2 mL), then centrifuged for 3
135
min at 2500 ×g rpm. We transferred the supernatant to a new tube and evaporated the
136
diethyl ether to a volume of 500 µL with nitrogen gas. The hydrolytic product was
137
separated on a silica gel G TLC plate with the developing solvents hexane/diethyl
138
ether/acetic acid (50:50:1, v/v/v). The band corresponding to 2-MAG was isolated 7
ACS Paragon Plus Environment
Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
139
and extracted twice with diethyl ether (1 mL). The solvent was removed by nitrogen
140
gas, and the residue was methylated and analyzed by GC.
141
GC analysis
142
The GC instrument was an Agilent 7820A (Agilent, Santa Clara, CA, USA)
143
equipped with a hydrogen flame ionization detector and a TRACE™ TR-FAME
144
capillary column (60 m × 0.25 mm × 0.25 µm, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Waltham,
145
MA, USA). Both the injector and detector temperatures were 250 °C. We used
146
nitrogen carrier gas at 1.2 mL/min, and the split ratio was 1:100. The oven
147
temperature was held at 60 °C for 3 min, then raised to 175 °C at the rate of 5 °C/min
148
and maintained for 15 min at this temperature, followed by an increase to 220 °C (at
149
a rate of 2 °C/min), which was maintained for 10 min. The FAMEs were identified
150
by comparison of the retention times of the sample peaks with those of a mixture of
151
the FAME standards.
152
The relative percentage of each FA at the sn-2 position was calculated as relative
153
percentage = (M/T×3) × 100, where M is the percentage of FAs at the sn-2 position
154
and T is the percentage of the FAs in the TAGs 12. The FA contents were expressed as
155
the weight percentage (%, w/w) of total FAs detected with chain lengths of 4–22
156
carbon atoms.
157
Statistical analysis
158
We performed a partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) to
159
determine the differences in the total FAs and sn-2 FAs profiles in the 3 types of 8
ACS Paragon Plus Environment
Page 8 of 37
Page 9 of 37
Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
160
breast milk using SIMCA-P software (version 13.5, Demo Umetrics, Umea, Sweden).
161
The dataset was mean-centered and pareto-scaled in a column-wise manner for the
162
multivariate modeling 13. To find the specific FA profile of the milk from each stage,
163
we subjected the data, which we displayed using Java TreeView, to hierarchical
164
clustering using Cluster 3.0. The FAs data were adjusted by subtracting the
165
sample-wise median from the value for each sample, so that the median value of each
166
sample was 0. The adjusted data reflect their variation from the median. Then, the
167
data
168
centered-correlation and the average linkage method.
were
clustered
using
the
hierarchical
clustering
algorithm
with
169
We analyzed the differences in the FAs or sn-2 FAs profiles of the breast milk
170
from different stages using SPSS 22. We tested the data for normality (assessed by
171
Shapiro–Wilk test) and homoscedasticity (assessed by Levene's test). In cases where
172
the data met the normal distribution criteria, we performed a one-way analysis of
173
variance. If differences were statistically significant, we used a Kruskal–Wallis test
174
for multiple comparisons.
175
Results
176
Total lipid and macroscopic differences in FA composition
177
The total lipid levels in breast milk from women in Wuxi significantly increased
178
over the period of lactation (P