Ochratoxin a in breast milk in Morocco: the affecting dietary habits of the lactating mothers and the degree of exposure of newborns “CONTAMILK study”

Abstract

The aim of the present study is to evaluate the level of contamination of breast milk (BM) by ochratoxin A, among Moroccan lactating mothers in the city of Rabat, and to identify the associated factors of exposure, also to estimate the degree of exposure of the breastfeed infant. The analysis of ochratoxin A (OTA) was accomplished by ELISA method on 82 colostrum samples. OTA was detectable (>0.08 ng/mL) in 55% of samples with a maximum concentration of 10.04 ng/mL, and the levels exceeded 0.5 ng /mL in 50 % of the samples. In addition, several factors and dietary habits affect significantly the level of OTA in the analyzed samples of breast milk including, the consumption of industrial dairy products, the frequency of consumption of canned foods, dried fruits and legumes, also the period of breast milk collection. Besides, OTA was higher than the tolerable daily intake for 49% newborns. However, these results need to be confirmed by multicenter studies to more broadly estimate the levels of exposition of Moroccan population to OTA. Furthermore, awareness campaigns are recommended to inform the public, especially pregnant women and lactating women about appropriate preventive measures to limit exposure to this mycotoxin.

Keywords:

• Ochratoxin A
• breast milk
• associated factors
• daily intake
• Morocco

Acknowledgements

The authors thank kindly the volunteer mothers for milk donation and all the staff of the Maternity Hospital of Souissi of Rabat for their collaboration during the collection of breast milk.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest relevant to this article.

Author contributions

This article is a part of the thesis of ACH. ACH study design, samples and data collection, analytical analysis, interpretation of results, and the writing of the manuscript; IG: statistical analysis; AZ revision of the manuscript. HS revision of the manuscript; ZQ analytical analysis; NM: methodology and supervision of all the stages of the study. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Additional information

Funding

Authors are also grateful for the financial support of the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy of Rabat and Mohamed V University of Rabat, as well the technical assistance of the Moroccan Foundation for Advanced Science, Innovation and Research (MAScIR).