ABSTRACT
The levels of 12 synthetic musks and one musk metabolite in 24 pooled human milk samples were examined in order to assess the health risks of these contaminants to breast-feeding infants of China. The 24 pooled samples comprised of 1237 individual human milk samples collected from 12 provinces of China according to WHO guidelines. Among the 13 target analytes, OTNE ([1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8-octahydro-2,3,8,8-tetramethylnaphthalen-2yl]ethan-1-one), HHCB (1,3,4,6,7,8-hexahydro-4,6,6,7,8,8-hexamethylcyclopenta[γ]-2-benzopyran), AHTN (7-acetyl-1,1,3,4,4,6-hexamethyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydronaphthalene), musk ketone (4-tert-butyl-2,6-dimethyl-3,5-dinitroacetophenone, MK), Musk T (1,4-dioxacyclohepta decane-5,17-dione), HHCB-lactone (1,3,4,6,7,8-hexahydro-4,6,6,7,8,8-hexamethyl cyclopenta[γ]-2-benzopyran-1-one) and musk ambrette (1-(1,1-dimethylethyl)-2-methoxy-4-methyl-3,5-dinitrobenzene, MA), were found in the milk samples analysed with mean (median) concentrations of 3.96 (3.91), 18.03 (15.10), 10.30 (9.38), 4.68 (4.45), < 3.70 (< 3.70), 10.02 (9.20) and < 5.20 (< 5.20) ng g–1 lipid weight, respectively, whereas ADBI (4-acetyl-1,1-dimethyl-6-tert-butylindan), AHDI (6-acetyl-1,1,2,3,3,5-hexamethylindan), ATII (5-acetyl-1,1,2,6-tetramethyl-3-isopropylindan), musk xylene (1-tert-butyl-3,5-dimethyl-2,4,6-trinitrobenzene, MX), musk tibetene (1-tert-butyl-3,4,5-trimethyl-2,6-dinitrobenzene, MT) and musk moskene (1,1,3,3,5-pentamethyl-4,6-dinotroindane, MM) were not detected. Significantly positive associations were observed in concentration levels between HHCB and AHTN (p < 0.001), HHCB and HHCB-lactone (p < 0.05), AHTN and HHCB-lactone (p < 0.001), and MK and OTNE (p < 0.05). No statistical difference was found in musk concentrations between rural and urban areas in China (p > 0.05). The mean (median) estimated daily intakes by infants were 20.5 (20.2), 93.4 (78.2), 53.4 (48.6), 24.2 (23.0) and 51.9 (47.6) ng kg–1 body weight for OTNE, HHCB, AHTN, MK and HHCB-lactone, respectively. The musk exposure levels of infants in China via breast feeding were very low according to the current toxicological information.
Acknowledgements
Special appreciation is expressed to the mothers who donated human milk samples for this study.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.