Lipidomic analysis of polar lipids in human breast milk using UPSFC-Q-TOF-MS: A study focused on ceramide and cholesterol

Abstract

Herein, polar lipids, including glycerophospholipid, lysophospholipid, cholesterol (CHOL), sphingomyelin (SM), and ceramide (Cer), in human breast milk were subjected to lipidomic analysis via UPSFC-Q-TOF-MS. A total of 11 lipid classes and 195 molecular species were identified and quantified in human breast milk samples (n = 126) from three lactational stages across three regions in China. CHOL and SM together account for more than 50 % of the total polar lipids. The total polar lipids, SM, and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) were ∼ 54.5, ∼17.8, and ∼ 3.5 mg/100 mL, respectively, which both significantly (P < 0.05) increased from colostrum to later lactational stages. DHA is highly enriched (..