Search

This study examined the exposure of infants to aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) and of lactating mothers to aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), using AFM1 in breast milk as a biomarker for exposure to AFB1. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was modified for the analysis of AFM1 in breast milk samples from 73 women from Victoria for comparison with breast milk samples from Thailand (n = 11). The results were compared with those obtained by HPLC. AFM1 was detected in 11 samples from Victoria and five samples from Thailand at median concentrations of 0.071 ng/ml (range 0.028 to 1.031 ng/ml) and 0.664 ng/ml (range 0.039 to 1.736 ng/ml), respectively. Levels of AFM1 in Thai milk samples were significantly higher than those in milk samples from Victoria.

Existing information on the exposure of Australian infants to environmental contaminants through maternal milk is inadequate for assessing the safety of breast feeding. This study was undertaken to determine the extent of organochlorine (OC) contamination in the milk of mothers resident in Victoria, to monitor OC elimination by the nursing mother and to estimate the infant's daily intake of OCs from breast milk. Organochlorines were extracted from the lipophilic fraction of the breast milk samples and analysed by selected ion monitoring on a gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer (GC-MS). There was widespread contamination of milk with dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (p,p'-DDT) and its metabolite dichlorodiphenyldichloroethene, hexachlorobenzene (HCB), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), oxychlordane and hexachlorocyclohexane, with p,p'-DDT and HCB being found in nearly all samples. Dieldrin and heptachlor epoxide were detected in 43 and 30% of samples respectively. PCBs were detected in 79% of samples and chlordane in 76%. A number of infants had daily intakes above the acceptable daily intake for total chlordane, total DDT, dieldrin, heptachlor epoxide and total PCBs. These findings have implications for strategies for the reduction of environmental contamination.