The Concentraions of Water-Soluble Vitamins in Breast Milk of Japanese Women

Abstract

The concentrations of 5 water-soluble vitamins were determined in the mature milk of healthy Japanese women in this study. The average concentrations of these vitamins were 0.28±0.14ng/ml (0.21±0.11pmol/ml) for vitamin B_<12>, 34.6±9.9ng/ml (78.5±22.3pmol/ml) for total folate, and 3.40±0.68ng/ml (13.9±2.8pmol/ml) for total biotin in 25 milks, and 1.55±0.56μg/ml (12.7±4.6nmol/ml) for total niacin, 6.92±2.83μg/ml (31.5±13.0nmol/ml) for total pantothenic acid in 15 milk specimens, which are not sufficient levels. The free form of vitamins comprised 25.6±8.2%, 17.9±7.5%, 69.4±16.9% of total biotin, niacin and pantothenic acid, respectively. When the intakes of these vitamins by infants were estimated based on the concentration of each vitamin and the amount of breast milk intake by infants, daily intakes of folate, biotin and pantothenic acid in infants aged 0 through 5 months were lower than the respective levels of adequate intake recommended as Dietary Reference Intakes for Japanese, 2005. The present findings are important for establishing future Dietary Reference Intakes for these vitamins.