Volume 89, Issue 1, January (2003), pp. 61-69 © The Author 2003
doi:10.1079/BJN2002746

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Determination of each neutral oligosaccharide in the milk of Japanese women during the course of lactation

Wataru Sumiyoshi^1,2, Tadasu Urashima^1*, Tadashi Nakamura¹, Ikichi Arai¹, Tadao Saito³, Norihiko Tsumura⁴, Bing Wang⁵, Janette Brand-Miller⁵, Yoko Watanabe⁶ and Kazumasa Kimura^6
1Department of Bioresource Science, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Inada cho, Obihiro, Hokkaido, 080-8555, Japan
²Course of the Science of Bioresources, The United Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Iwate University, 18-8 Ueda 3-chome, Morioka, Iwate, 020-8550, Japan
³Department of Bioproduction, Graduate School of Agriculture, Tohoku University, Tsutsumidori-Amamiya machi 1-1, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi, 981-8555, Japan
⁴Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Obihiro Kosei General Hospital, Obihiro, Hokkaido, 080-0016, Japan
⁵Human Nutrition Unit, Department of Biochemistry, University of Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia
⁶YAKULT Central Institute for Microbiological Research, 1796 Yaho, Kunitachi, Tokyo, 186-8650, Japan

 (Received 12 July 2001–Revised 11 February 2002–Accepted 9 September 2002)

Using reverse-phase HPLC after pyridylamination, we quantified the concentrations of major neutral oligosaccharides in the milk of sixteen Japanese women collected at 4, 10, 30 and 100 d postpartum. In colostrum and mature milk (30 d lactation), lacto-N-fucopentaose (LNFP) I was the most abundant oligosaccharide, followed by 2'-fucosyllactose (2'-FL) + lacto-N-difucotetraose (LNDFT), LNFP II + lacto-N-difucohexaose II (LNDFH II), and 3-fucosyllactose (3-FL). Together these accounted for 73 % of the total weight of neutral oligosaccharides in colostrum and mature milk. Changes in concentration occurred during the course of lactation. LNFP I and 2'-FL + LNDFT increased from 4 to 10 d postpartum, and then declined by 100 d. LNFP II + LNDFH II steadily increased during the first 30 d and then declined. In contrast, 3-FL increased steadily throughout the entire 100 d of study. Large differences were observed between our data and previously published data in Italian women, in terms of both the concentration and temporal changes of each oligosaccharide. These differences may be caused by different assay methodology, although racial differences cannot be ruled out.

*Corresponding author: Dr T. Urashima, fax +81 155 49 5577, email urashima@obihiro.ac.jp

Keywords:
Human milk oligosaccharides: Lactation period: Pyridylamination: High-performance liquid chromatography