Abstract
Breast milk samples were collected from 27 healthy Japanese lactating women at about 1 week after delivery, and analysed for zinc (Zn) and selenium (Se) contents. The average Zn concentration (5.7±2.0μg/ml) was slightly higher than, and the average Se concentration (29.2±6.5ng/ml) was in good agreement with, the reported value. Using stepwise multiple regression analysis, the age of the mother and the sex of the infant for interindividual variation of milk Zn levels and the post-partum day of milk collection, the hospital of admission for delivery, and the sex of the infant for variation of milk Se levels were selected as possible contributory factors. The causes of the observed results and their implications for furthers studies were discussed.
