Abstract
Summary
1. Results are presented from analyses of 147 samples of mature human milk from healthy mothers for nitrogen and 10 essential amino acids. The samples consisted of 18 collections from 5 women of all milk secreted in 24-hour periods and 129 collections from 56 women of milk secreted in periods of 4-8 hours. Mean values for concentrations of the amino acids in the 2 groups of samples agreed well. 2. Wide individual variations were found among successfully nursing women and at different intervals postpartum. Mean concentrations of nitrogen and the essential amino acids in 24-hour samples of colostrum, transitional, and mature milk showed a general lowering to the levels in mature milk as lactation was established and application of the Analysis of Variance to the data for 11 women, each of whom provided a sample during the same postpartum interval of mature milk production also indicated a gradual reduction in amino acid concentrations.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.