Abstract Concentrations of five phospholipid (PL) classes and their respective molecular species were determined in mature milk samples from a cohort of Chinese mothers over an eight month lactational period.… Click to show full abstract
Abstract Concentrations of five phospholipid (PL) classes and their respective molecular species were determined in mature milk samples from a cohort of Chinese mothers over an eight month lactational period. Although changes were not statistically significant, average total PL concentrations increased over the mature milk period from a one month low of 193 mg L−1 to a high of 246 mg L−1 at eight months lactation. Phosphatidyl ethanolamine (37% of total PLs) was the most abundant phospholipid class throughout the mature milk period, followed by sphingomyelin (32%), phosphatidyl choline (22%), phosphatidyl serine (4%) and phosphatidyl inositol (3%). The molecular species 36:2 was identified as the most abundant for the glycerophospholipids, ranging from 37% to 64% of the total molecular species intensities, and lactational changes in this molecular species dominated the overall lactational changes in proportions of molecular species. At 20.6%, the molecular species d40:1 was the major sphingomyelin molecular species identified.
               
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