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. 2023 Oct 13;12(10):1857.
doi: 10.3390/antiox12101857.

The Effect of Holder Pasteurization and Different Variants on Breast Milk Antioxidants

Réka Anna Vass  1   2   3 , Éva Mikó  2   4 , Csenge Gál  2 , Tamás Kőszegi  2   5 , Csaba I Vass  3 , Szilvia Bokor  2   6 , Dénes Molnár  2   6 , Simone Funke  1   2 , Kálmán Kovács  1   2 , József Bódis  1   2   7 , Tibor Ertl  1   2
Affiliations

The Effect of Holder Pasteurization and Different Variants on Breast Milk Antioxidants

Réka Anna Vass et al. Antioxidants (Basel). .

Abstract

Background: After birth, breast milk (BM) is a known essential source of antioxidants for infants. We analyzed the non-enzymatic total antioxidant capacity (TAC), oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC), and glutathione, calcium, transferrin, and total protein levels of human breast milk before and after Holder pasteurization (HoP).

Methods: The collected donor BM samples were pasteurized with HoP.

Results: HoP decreased TAC (-12.6%), ORAC (-12.1%), transferrin (-98.3%), and total protein (-21.4%) levels; HoP did not influence the glutathione concentration, and it increased the total calcium (+25.5%) concentration. Mothers who gave birth via Cesarean section had significantly lower TAC in their BM. TAC and glutathione levels were elevated in the BM of mothers over the age of 30. BM produced in the summer had higher glutathione and calcium levels compared to BM produced in the winter. The glutathione concentration in term milk samples was significantly higher in the first two months of lactation compared to the period between the third and sixth months. The transferrin level of BM for female infants was significantly higher than the BM for boys, and mothers with a BMI above 30 had increased transferrin in their samples.

Conclusions: Antioxidant levels in human milk are influenced by numerous factors. Environmental and maternal factors, the postpartum age at breast milk collection, and Holder pasteurization of the milk influence the antioxidant intake of the infant.

Keywords: ORAC; TAC; breast milk; calcium; donor milk; glutathione; total protein; transferrin.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Experimental design of our study.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Glutathione (winter n = 28; summer n = 31) and calcium (winter n = 17; summer n = 21) levels in BM samples collected during the winter and summer. In the case of glutathione, * p = 0.0167; in the case of calcium, * p = 0.0128.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Glutathione concentration of term breast milk during the first 6 months of lactation (* p = 0.0213).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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Grants and funding

Project no. RRF-2.3.1-21-2022-00012, entitled the National Laboratory on Human Reproduction, has been implemented with support provided by the Recovery and Resilience Facility of the European Union within the framework of the Programme Széchenyi Plan Plus. This work was supported by the Medical School of the University of Pécs.

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