The Gestational Pathologies Effect on the Human Milk Redox Homeostasis: A First Step Towards Its Definition

Background: Human Milk (HM) is a dynamic nourishment; its composition is influenced by several conditions such as gestational age, maternal diet and ethnicity. It appears important to evaluate the impact that gestational pathologies have on HM components and if their presence, as a source of oxidative stress in the mother, influence milk's redox homeostasis. To assess the effect of Preeclampsia (PE) and Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) on some aspects of human milk redox homeostasis, we chose to investigate both oxidative and antioxidant aspects, with, respectively, Lipid hydroperoxides (LOOHs) and Glutathione (GSH).

Methods: Women with PE, GDM and who were healthy were recruited for this study. Colostrum, transitional and mature milk samples were collected. GSH and LOOHs levels were measured using a spectrophotometric test. To investigate the effect of pathology on redox homeostasis, a mixed linear model with unistructural covariance structure was performed.

Results: A total of 120 mothers were recruited. The GSH concentration results were significantly lower in GDM women than in healthy women only in colostrum ( < 0.01). No other differences emerged. LOOHs was not detectable in almost all the samples.

Discussion: Our study is the first to extensively evaluate these components in the HM of women with these gestational pathologies. The main observation is that GDM can alter the GSH level of HM, mainly in colostrum.