Fatty acids (FA), phospholipids (PL), and gangliosides (GD) play a central role in infant growth, immune and inflammatory responses. The aim of this study was to determine FA, PL, and GD compositional changes in human milk (HM) during lactation in a large group of Chinese lactating mothers (540 volunteers) residing in Beijing, Guangzhou, and Suzhou. HM samples were collected after full expression from one breast and while the baby was fed on the other breast. FA were assessed by direct methylation followed by gas chromatography (GC) analysis. PL and GD were extracted using chloroform and methanol. A methodology employing liquid chromatography coupled with an evaporative light scattering detector (ELSD) and with time of flight (TOF) mass spectrometry was used to quantify PL and GD classes in HM, respectively. Saturated FA (SFA), mono-unsaturated FA (MUFA), and PL content decreased during lactation, while polyunsaturated FA (PUFA) and GD content increased. Among different cities, over the lactation time, HM from Beijing showed the highest SFA content, HM from Guangzhou the highest MUFA content and HM from Suzhou the highest n-3PUFA content. The highest total PL and GD contents were observed in HM from Suzhou. In order to investigate the influence of the diet on maternal milk composition, a careful analyses of dietary habits of these population needs to be performed in the future.

Objective The study aims at evaluating mid-infrared human milk analyzer (HMA) accuracy and precision, in human milk (HM). Study design Röse-Gottlieb, high-performance anion exchange chromatography-pulsed amperometric detection (HPAEC-PAD), Kjeldahl and amino acid analysis (AA) were selected as references for total fat, lactose and total protein determination. Results No significant difference was observed in lactose content between HMA and HPAEC-PAD. Significant differences were observed in fat and protein content between HMA and reference methods. However, the difference in fat content was lower than 12%, and therefore within the variability declared by supplier. For protein determination, the BCA protein assay was selected. No significant differences were observed in total protein content measured by BCA assay, Kjeldahl and AA methods. Conclusions HMA was reliable for the quantification of total fat and lactose content, but not for total protein one. The latter was measured by BCA assay, which yielded comparable results to Kjeldahl and AA methods.

Widely consumed beverages such as red wine, tea, and cocoaderived products are a great source of flavanols. Epidemiologic and interventional studies suggest that cocoa flavanols such as (-)-epicatechin may reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases. The interaction of (-)-epicatechin with food components including other polyphenols could modify its absorption, metabolism, and finally its bioactivity. In the present study we investigate (-)-epicatechin absorption and metabolism when coexposed with other polyphenols in the intestinal absorptive Caco-2 cell model. Depending on the type of polyphenols coadministered, the total amount of 39-O-methyl-epicatechin and 39-O-sulfate-epicatechin conjugates found both in apical and basal compartments ranged from 19 to 801 nM and from 6 to 432 nM, respectively. The coincubation of (-)-epicatechin with flavanols, chlorogenic acid, and umbelliferone resulted in similar amounts of 39-O-methyl-epicatechin effluxed into the apical compartment relative to control. Coincubation with isorhamnetin, kaempferol, diosmetin, nevadensin, chrysin, equol, genistein, and hesperitin promoted the transport of 39-Omethyl-epicatechin toward the basolateral side and decreased the apical efflux. Quercetin and luteolin considerably inhibited the appearance of this (-)-epicatechin conjugate both in the apical and basolateral compartments. In conclusion, we could demonstrate that the efflux of (-)-epicatechin conjugates to the apical or basal compartments of Caco-2 cells is modulated by certain classes of polyphenols and their amount. Ingesting (-)-epicatechin with specific polyphenols could be a strategy to increase the bioavailability of (-)-epicatechin and to modulate its metabolic profile.

Understanding the bioavailability and metabolism of coffee compounds will contribute to identify the unknown biological mechanism(s) linked to their beneficial effects. The influence of the roasting process on the metabolism of coffee chlorogenic acids in humans was evaluated. In a randomized, double‐blind, crossover study, 12 healthy volunteers consumed four instant coffees namely, high roasted coffee (HRC), low roasted coffee (LRC), unroasted coffee (URC), and in vitro hydrolyzed unroasted coffee (HURC). The sum of areas under the curve (AUC) ranged from 8.65–17.6 to 30.9–126 µM/h (P < 0.05) for HRC, LRC, URC, and HURC, respectively. The AUC of HRC, LRC, and URC was correlated with the initial level of phenolic acids in the coffee drinks. Despite different absorption rates, the extent of conjugation was comparable between HRC, LRC, and URC coffees but different for HURC. The most abundant circulating metabolites during the first 5 H were dihydroferulic acid (DHFA), caffeic acid‐3′‐O‐sulfate (CA3S) and isoferulic‐3′‐O‐glucuronide (iFA3G). DHFA and 5‐4‐dihydro‐m‐coumaric acid (mDHCoA) were the main metabolites in the period of 5–24 H. The phenolic compounds after consumption of HURC were most rapidly absorbed (Tmax 1 H) compared with the other coffees (Tmax between 9 and 11 H). Using coffees with different degrees of roasting we highlighted that in spite of different absorption rates the extent of conjugation of phenolic acids was comparable. In addition, by using a hydrolyzed unroasted coffee we demonstrated an increased absorption of phenolic acids in the small intestine. © 2016 BioFactors, 42(3):259–267, 2016