A study of factors that may influence the determination of copper, iron, and zinc in human milk during sampling and in sample individuals.

The aim of this study was to establish the possible effects of the sampling protocol (between-breast, within-feed, and diurnal differences) and the mother's personal factors (age, parity, iron supplementation, smoking habits, and lactation period) on the copper, iron, and zinc contents in human milk. One hundred thirty-six human milk samples identified by their origin and sampling conditions were analyzed. The samples were obtained from the 2nd to 15th d postpartum from 62 women. The data on the individuals required for the study were available. Mineral determinations were analyzed by flame atomic absorption spectrometry following a standardized protocol. The results showed that iron conten…

Copper, iron and zinc determinations in human milk using FAAS with microwave digestion

Abstract A method for determining copper, iron and zinc in human milk was optimized and validated. It includes microwave mineralization of the sample and measuring the elements by flame atomic absorption spectroscopy (FAAS). Only 2 ml of milk is needed, and the method is free of matrix interferences. The values obtained for the detection limits (0.07; 0.07; 0.11 μg/ml milk, for copper, iron and zinc) precision of the method, intra-assay (2.9; 5.2; 6.1%RSD for copper, iron and zinc) and accuracy, evaluated using recovery assays (98.8; 100.4; 95.9% for copper, iron and zinc) show that the method is useful for the purpose mentioned. Moreover, the method is rapid and simple, and the determinati…

Evolution of Copper Contents from Colostrum to Transitional Human Milk