Linking peak energy metabolism to lifespan and aging remains a major question especially when focusing on lactation in females. We studied, if and how lactation affects in vitro mitochondrial oxygen consumption and mitochondrial fatty acid composition. In addition, we assessed DNA damage, lipid peroxidation and protein carbonyls to extrapolate on oxidative stress in mothers. As model system we ...

Objective: An established source of energy, vitamins, minerals, growth factors, enzymes and hormones, only recent key research has also documented the ability of mothers milk to reduce in infants the incidence of diarrhea, RTI, UTI, otitis media, neonatal septicemia, necrotizing enterocolitis, Crohn’s disease, allergic disorders, SIDS, type I diabetes, and lymphoma. However, the apparently scan...

OBJECTIVES Aflatoxins as a highly toxic group of mycotoxins are present in the environment and foodstuff. These have been reported to cause serious health problems in humans. Since aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) is excreted into breast milk, investigating the exposure of infants to AFM1 is of special concern. METHODS In the present study, breast milk samples were collected from 85 lactating mothers in I...

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES This study was performed to measure fat-soluble vitamins and minerals in breast milk of Korean lactating mothers who exclusively breastfed their babies. SUBJECTS/METHODS Breast milk samples were collected from 334 mothers. Concentrations of retinol and α-tocopherol were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography ultraviolet spectrometry while concentrations of mi...

The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis modulates individuals' physiological responses to social stress, which is an inevitable aspect of the daily lives of group-living animals. Previous nonhuman primate studies have reported that sex, age, rank, and reproductive condition influence cortisol levels under stressful conditions. In this study we investigated cortisol responses to stress amo...

1. Serum prolactin (PRL) levels, both basal and post-suckling peak, were estimated in fifty-seven lactating women. 2. Basal PRL levels were significantly higher in all lactating women irrespective of the duration of lactation as compared to the levels in non-pregnant, non-lactating women. 3. There was significant positive correlation (r 0.69, P less than 0.001) between the basal PRL levels and ...

The selenium status of a group of 23 lactating and 13 nonlactating women was assessed from 37-wk gestation through 6-mo postpartum. The mean overall dietary Se intake of both groups of women was 80 +/- 37 micrograms/d. Plasma and erythrocyte Se levels were lower in the lactating than in the nonlactating mothers both before and after parturition. Breast-milk Se concentrations fell from 20 microg...

The mammary gland is one of the few adult tissues that strongly induce de novo fatty acid synthesis upon physiological stimulation, suggesting that fatty acid is important for milk production during lactation. The committed enzyme to perform this function is fatty acid synthase (FASN). To determine whether de novo fatty acid synthesis is obligatory or dietary fat is sufficient for mammary gland...

The present study is an attempt to enlist plants used to increase the secretion of milk among new mothers and lactating woman and to gather information on how this plant resources are used by indigenous people in Andhra Pradesh. This stud have brought to light 13 useful plants that were formerly either less known or unknown.