447 - Vitamin A Concentration in Donor Human Milk is below recommended intake for preterm infants

Poster Number: 447
Publication Number: 447.2192

Background: Donor human milk (DHM) is the standard of care for feeding preterm infants when mother’s own milk (MOM) is unavailable. Vitamin A is essential for eye development, growth, healing, and the prevention of bronchopulmonary dysplasia and respiratory infections in the preterm infant. Unlike MOM, DHM must undergo multiple processing steps including pooling, pasteurization or sterilization, and freezing. Although pasteurization is known to inactivate vitamin A, the impact of DHM processing on vitamin A content is unknown.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to measure the vitamin A concentration in a nationwide sample of DHM.

Design/Methods: DHM was purchased from two for-profit milk banks (NiQ, Prolacta Bioscience) and five not-for-profit milks banks (Human Milk Banking Association of North America) representing seven states across the US. Samples were shipped to Eurofins SF Analytical Laboratories (New Berlin, WI) and were analyzed for vitamin A concentration by AOAC 992.04, 992.06, and 2001.13 methodology using UHPLC.

Results: In total, fifteen DHM samples from seven human milk banks were analyzed. Vitamin A concentration (mean 119.6 ± 29.5 IU/dL) for DHM was similar to reported concentrations in fresh term MOM.

Conclusion(s): The concentration of vitamin A in DHM is similar to fresh term MOM and in line with previous reports on vitamin A concentrations in DHM. Additional vitamin A supplementation is required to meet the recommended intake (365-1000 µg/100 kcal) for preterm infants.