To clarify the concentration of water-soluble vitamins in the mature milk of Japanese women who had delivered a healthy, full-term infant, the contents of biotin, pantothenic acid and niacin were measured in the present study. Milk samples were obtained from 25 healthy nursing women for 21 to 89 days and for 90 to 180 days of lactation in summer and winter, respectively. Total biotin and pantothenic acid were quantified microbiologically using Lactobacillus plantarum, and niacin was measured by HPLC. The biotin content in mature milk was 3.87ng/ml on average, which was lower than those reported previously. The average content of pantothenic acid was 5.30μg/ml, which was nearly double the value used to set the Adequate Intake in 6^<th> revised National Reference Intake in Japan. On the other hand, the mean concentration of niacin was 2.22μg/ml, which was not markedly different from the value in other studies. It is suggested that these values are of importance in the setting of an Estimated Average Requirement for these vitamins.
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