Nutritional and fatty acid profile of human milk samples from district Malakand, Pakistan

Abstract

Breast Milk is the first and complete diet for infant. It has a pivotal role in determining the growth pattern of the kid. Breast milk has various nutritional ingredients and is the source of energy for the infant. It has a vital role in the development of the immune system. The composition of milk varies with the diet of mother, environment and time of feeding. The fatty acid profile and nutritional value of the Breast milk of Malakand district was determined. The fats and protein was determined using the AOAC and ward method while the fatty acid profile was determined through GC-MS. Milk samples were analyzed for proximate composition and from the results the moisture, ash, fats, protein and carbohydrate contents were found to be 3.632%, 0.94%, 87.69%, 0.29% and 7.32% respectively. The isolated fats were further analyzed by GC/MS to determine their fatty acid compositions quantitatively. The average fatty acid profiles showed that it is composed of saturated (SFA), mono unsaturated (MUFA) and poly unsaturated fatty (PUFA) acid with concentration of 38.41%, 29.59% and 14.70% respectively. All these fractions were further investigated for fatty acid contents. In general both proximate and fatty acids profiles were found slightly different compared to the contents of breast milk in developed countries which may be due to the difference in diet, environment and socioeconomic status of women in Pakistan