1. C Enrichment of the CO2 in Breast Milk and in the Breath Is Rapidly Modified by Changes in the 13C Content of the Diet.
- Author
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Villalpando, Salvador, Del Prado, Martha, Cienfuego, Edith, and Morales, Pedro
- Subjects
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BREAST milk , *BREATH tests , *CARBON dioxide , *DIET , *PLANTS , *RESEARCH funding , *T-test (Statistics) , *DATA analysis software - Abstract
Background: C4 plants (e.g. corn and sugar cane) have greater 13C enrichment than C3 plants (e.g. wheat and sugar beet). Objective: To assess whether 13C enrichment of CO2 in the breath and breast milk of women on diets based on C3 and C4 foods changes from one diet to the other. Materials and Methods: Six breast-feeding women were studied at 5-6 months postpartum. They ate a controlled C4 diet on days 1 and 2 followed by a C3 diet on days 3 and 4. Diet duplicates, breast milk on days 2 and 4 and hourly breath samples were collected over 4 days. 13C enrichment was measured by isotope-ratio mass spectrometry. Values of δ13C were calculated from the international PDBV standard (δ13CPDBV). Differences between means were compared by paired t test or t test for repeated measurements. Results: δ13CPDBV values were significantly higher in the C4 diet than in the C3 diet composites (p < 0.01). In breath CO2, the δ13CPDBV value was greater on days 1 and 2 (range -15.4 to -13.2, respectively) and declined on days 3 and 4 (range -20.0 to -21.8, respectively, p < 0.01). The lipid and milk serum fractions of breast milk had significantly higher δ13CPDBV on the C3 diet than on the C4 diet (p < 0.01). Conclusions: Subjects eating a C4 diet have a higher δ13CPDBV value in the breath and breast milk fractions, which diminish rapidly on a C3 diet. Further studies focusing on individual nutrients are warranted. © 2014 S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2014
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