Milk and Plasma Lutein and Zeaxanthin Concentrations in Chinese Breast-Feeding Mother–Infant Dyads With Healthy Maternal Fruit and Vegetable Intake*

Figures & data

Table 1. Baseline Characteristics of the Study Population.

Characteristic
Infant race, number Chinese	56 (100%)
Maternal race, number Chinese	56 (100%)
Infant gender, number male	29 (52%)
Age at enrollment, mean ± SEM (range)
Mother, years	28.4 ± 0.4 (19.0, 35.0)
Infant, weeks	9.9 ± 0.4 (6.3, 15.7)
Height, cm, mean ± SEM (range)
Infant (body length)	60.2 ± 0.3 (55.1, 66.5)
Mother	160.9 ± 0.7 (150.0, 179.8)
Weight, mean ± SEM (range)
Infant, grams	6121 ± 117 (4400, 9800)
Mother, kg	58 ± 1 (44, 82)

Table 2. Maternal Dietary Intake by Food Group Compared to Previous Research.

Food group	Current study^a	Chinese general population^b	Chinese lactating mothers^c
All vegetables (g/d)	283.5 ± 16.7	276.2	295.9
Dark green leafy vegetables	170.0 ± 12.2	90.8	94.7
Light-colored vegetables	113.6 ± 10.2	185.4	201.2
Fruits (g/d)	283.8 ± 19.8	45.0	47.8
Eggs (g/d)	74.3 ± 5.2	23.7	35.0

^a Average ± SEM (3).

^b Reference 18.

^c Reference 22.

Table 3. Lutein and Zeaxanthin Concentrations in Human Milk and in Maternal and Infant Plasma.

	Human milk		Plasma
	Sample 1^a	Sample 2^b	Maternal	Infant
Lutein (μg/dL)	6.9 ± 0.56 (1.0–22.5)	8.2 ± 0.65 (1.0–22.4)	21.6 ± 1.13 (7.1–44.6)	18.5 ± 1.22 (3.7–45.8)
trans-Lutein (μg/dL)	6.5 ± 0.54 (0.9–21.9)	7.7 ± 0.61 (0.9–21.2)	17.9 ± 0.96 (5.8–39.0)	16.1 ± 1.08 (3.3–41.3)
Zeaxanthin (μg/dL)	1.9 ± 0.14 (1.0–4.6)	2.0 ± 0.17 (1.0–5.9)	3.1 ± 0.16 (0.9–6.2)	3.0 ± 0.22 (0.5–7.9)

Note. Values are mean ± SEM (range). Lutein + zeaxanthin intake was 3.3 ± 0.41 mg per day. Collected using 3-day diary 1–3 weeks after enrollment (6–16 weeks of lactation).

^a Collected at enrollment between 1 and 6 p.m.; 4 weeks or more of lactation.

^b Collected 1 week after sample 1 between 1 and 6 p.m.

Table 4. Correlations Between Infant Plasma Lutein or Zeaxanthin Concentrations and Those in Milk and Maternal Plasma.

	Infant plasma vs. milk			Infant plasma vs. maternal plasma			Maternal plasma vs. milk
	r^2	p	Slope	r^2	p	Slope	r^2	p	Slope
Lutein	0.15	0.004	0.810	0.42	<0.001	0.697	0.26	<0.001	0.260
trans-Lutein	0.16	0.002	0.798	0.43	<0.001	0.736	0.31	<0.001	0.313
cis-Lutein	0.10	0.016	0.505	0.35	<0.001	0.220	0.19	<0.001	0.183
Zeaxanthin	0.21	<0.001	0.935	0.44	<0.001	0.315	0.26	<0.001	0.174

Note. Milk sample 1 was used in these correlation analyses. Milk sample 1 and the plasma samples were collected at enrollment at 6–16 weeks of lactation.

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