Evaluation and Determination of Heavy Metals (Mercury, Lead and Cadmium) in Human Breast Milk

Abstract

Abstract. Mercury, Lead and Cadmium were determined in 100 samples of human breast milk samples from urban and rural mothers in Isfahan (IRAN). A questionnaire about area of residence, nutrition, smoking habits, and dental fillings was filled out by the lactating mothers. The combination of nitric acid, hydrogen peroxide and perchloric acid was found to be one of the most suitable acids in wet digestion of milk. Cold vapor atomic absorption was used to determine the mercury content in milk after wet digestion. The effect of concentration of nitric acid, influence of flow rate and tin(П) chloride were investigated. The mean concentration of mercury in human breast milk samples was 0.96 ppb. Extraction of Pb and Cd were performed with ammonium pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (APDC) to methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK) and were determined by Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometry. The factors influencing, the complex formation, pH, time and buffer were optimized. The mean concentration of Pb and Cd in human breast milk was 0.0147 and 0.0121 ppm, respectively. The maximum concentrations were found in breast milk of rural mothers.

Assessment of Aflatoxin M1 and Heavy Metal Levels in Mothers Breast Milk in Famagusta, Cyprus

“…Mean level of Cd found in our study was 0.45 ± 0.23 ppb (μg/l). The concentration of the Cd was lower than acceptable limits set by the WHO and than some other reported results in the literature [10,48,51,52,56,60].…”

“…In literature, Pb, As, Hg, and Cd were widely studied as important toxic heavy metal contaminants found in breast milk [51], and AFM1 was among mycotoxins as natural toxins [9,64,65] In our study, we investigated the levels of these contaminants. This is the first pilot study from Cyprus, where AFM1 and heavy metal levels were measured in breast milk.…”

“…Studies from Mexico [49], Egypt [50], Poland [10], Iran [51], Brazil [52], Sweden [53], Greece [54], and Nigeria [55] reported Pb levels in breast milk levels as 460, 101, 6.3, 14.7, 0.260, 1.5, 0.48, and 8.7 μg/l, respectively. Mean level of Cd found in our study was 0.45 ± 0.23 ppb (μg/l).…”

Concentration of Aflatoxin M 1 and selected heavy metals in mother milk samples from Pakistan

“…The most frequently reported toxic xenobiotics in mother milk samples are aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) (Cantú-Cornelio et al, 2016;Diaz & Sánchez, 2015;Iha, Barbosa, Heck, & Trucksess, 2014) and heavy metals (Abdollahi, Tadayon, & Amirkavei, 2013;Mansour et al, 2015;Ullah, Rehman, Iqbal, Rehman, & Ahmad, 2015). However, it is pertinent to mention that breastfeeding is encouraged despite the presence of impurities in mother milk, the efforts are being made to ensure the supply of safe food to the mothers so that the neonates receive healthy mother milk.…”

“…Consumption of metal contaminated food items by the lactating mothers result in the residues of metals in mother milk that ultimately impacts the health of breastfeeding infants. A number of countries have reported the presence of toxic heavy metals beyond their permissible ranges in mother milk samples including Iran (Abdollahi et al, 2013), Ghana (Bentum et al, 2010), Saudia Arabia (Al- Saleh et al, 2015), Turkey (Turan, Saygi, Kiliç, & Acar, 2001) and Nigeria (Adesiyan, Akiibinu, Olisekodiaka, Onuegbu, & Adeyeye, 2011).…”