Physicochemical analysis of colostrum breast milk donated in the lactation room of the Educational Medical Unit of an Argentine public university

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the composition of proteins, fats, and, the lipid profile of donated breast milk in the lactation unit of the Educational Medical Unit of the National University of Chaco Austral. To achieve this, breast milk from selected mothers was analyzed, which was collected between 1 to 3 days postpartum. The protein content, total fat, and lipid profile were determined using standardized techniques, to verify if there are variations in their composition. The minimum and maximum protein values were 2.37 ± 0.32 and 3.46 ± 0.86, and for total fat 4.50 ± 0.33 and 6.20 ± 0.86 g/ 100 ml, being the main fatty acids myristic, palmitic, stearic, oleic, and linoleic. Although it is an initial study, the nutritional composition of the samples coincides with that reported in the bibliography, highlighting the content of fatty acids detected.