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An American study analyzed breast milk samples from 349 mothers and found that diet, genetics, and breast gene expression all influence breast milk metabolites. Diet has the greatest explanatory power. However, this is still an observational study and its causal effects on infant health have not yet been confirmed.
A study of 349 mothers in the United States found that mother’s eating habits, genetic differences, and gene expression of breast cells are all related to metabolite composition in breast milk. Of the maternal factors measured in the study, diet had the highest explanatory power for differences in metabolite concentrations. Studies have shown that coffee and caffeine intake are closely related to the concentration of specific metabolites in breast milk, suggesting that the composition of breast milk is influenced by various physiological and lifestyle factors.
According to a study published on “bioRxiv”, an American research team analyzed breast milk samples from 349 mothers in Minnesota and Oklahoma about one month after delivery, using mass spectrometry analysis technology to detect 458 metabolites, and combined with dietary questionnaires, breast milk cell gene expression and genetic data to explore the relationship between various factors and the molecular composition of breast milk.
The research team compared 199 dietary characteristics with 458 breast milk metabolites and found that 1,038 groups had statistically significant correlations, of which 920 groups, or about 88%, were positively correlated. This suggests that when mothers consume more specific dietary components, concentrations of certain metabolites in breast milk also become higher.
Among them, coffee and caffeine intake are highly correlated with the concentrations of quinic acid and 1,3-dimethyluric acid in breast milk. The study found that dietary characteristics could explain 34% of the variation in quinic acid concentration in breast milk; Furthermore, dietary characteristics could also explain 12.5% of the variation in proline betaine concentration related to citrus fruit intake, indicating a clear relationship between the mother’s daily diet and specific breast milk metabolites.
Studies have also found that mothers who consume excessive alcohol have lower concentrations of sphingosine-1-phosphate in their breast milk. It is a lipid involved in cell signaling and may be related to intestinal development and immune function. Furthermore, overall diet quality as measured by the Healthy Diet Index was positively correlated with concentrations of riboflavin (vitamin B2) and N-acetylornithine in breast milk.
In addition to dietary factors, the research team also analyzed the gene expression of breast milk cells and found that the gene expression levels of some enzymes involved in metabolism were negatively correlated with the concentration of specific metabolites. For example, when the expression level of the QPRT gene responsible for the metabolism of quinolinic acid is high, the concentration of quinolinic acid in breast milk is usually low; When expression levels of another DPEP1 gene related to dipeptide degradation are high, the concentration of cysteine-glycine in breast milk is also reduced.
Genome-wide association analysis found that 9 groups of metabolites were associated with loci that reached the research significance threshold, including genetic variations near PDE6A related to purine metabolism, and genetic variations near GNE related to sialic acid metabolites. Research suggests that part of the genetic link may be related to biological effects unique to the mammary gland during breastfeeding.
The study ultimately integrated dietary, clinical, and some genetic characteristics of 183 participants to establish a predictive model. Of the 246 metabolites that were successfully selected as predictor variables, the average explanatory power of the model for concentration differences was 13.2%; Of those, dietary factors accounted for the largest proportion of the variation explained in 168 models, approximately 68%, indicating that diet is the factor with the strongest association with differences in the composition of breast milk metabolites among the maternal factors measured in this study.
However, the research team stressed that this was an observational study and could not yet prove any causal relationship between dietary or genetic factors and changes in breast milk metabolites, nor did it directly assess the impact of these metabolites on infant health. Since the study only collected breast milk samples approximately one month after delivery, and the subjects were predominantly of European descent, it is still necessary to expand the research population and breastfeeding stage in the future to clarify whether breast milk metabolites can be used as evaluation indicators of maternal nutritional status and infant development.
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