Vitamin E concentration in human milk and associated factors: a literature review

Abstract

Objective: To systematize information about vitamin E concentration in human milk and the variables associated with this composition in order to find possible causes of deficiency, supporting strategies to prevent it in postpartum women and infants.

Source: Studies published between 2004 and 2014 that assayed alpha-tocopherol in human milk of healthy women by high performance liquid chromatography were evaluated. The keywords used were "vitamin E", "alpha-tocopherol", "milk, human", "lactation", and equivalents in Portuguese, in the BIREME, CAPES, PubMed, SciELO, ISI Web of Knowledge, HighWire Press, Ingenta, and Brazilian Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations databases.

Summary of the findings: Of the 41 publications found on the subject, 25 whose full text was available and met the inclusion criteria were selected. The alpha-tocopherol concentrations found in milk were similar in most populations studied. The variable phase of lactation was shown to influence vitamin E content in milk, which is reduced until the mature milk appears. Maternal variables parity, anthropometric nutritional status, socioeconomic status, and habitual dietary intake did not appear to affect the alpha-tocopherol levels in milk. However, the influence of the variables maternal age, gestational age, biochemical nutritional status in alpha-tocopherol, and maternal supplementation with vitamin E had conflicting results in the literature.

Conclusion: Alpha-tocopherol concentration in milk decreases during lactation, until the mature milk appears. To confirm the influence of some maternal and child variables on milk vitamin E content, further studies with adequate design are needed.

Keywords: Alfa-tocoferol; Alpha-tocopherol; Human milk; Lactation; Lactação; Leite humano; Newborn; Recém-nascido; Vitamin E; Vitamina E.