Concentration of Trace Elements in Human and Animal Milk in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Human milk is the first food human encounter and it serves as the sole source of all nutrients required for the biological functions and growth during the early stages of life. Trace elements contents are therefore of importance from nutritional point of view. Moreover, accurate data on the concentrations of trace elements in human milk throughout early lactation are important for developing milk formula substitutes. Raw milk as it comes from cow is the natural substitute to human milk for infant feeding. It is now recognized that both too little and excessive amounts of minerals pose health hazards for the infants.
This study was directed to measure the concentrations of zinc (Zn), iron (Fe), copper (Cu), chromium (Cr), Cadmium (Cd), manganese (Mn) and lead (Pb) in human milk and in cow milk samples available in and around Jeddah city. A total of 108 human milk samples and 80 fresh cow milk samples were analyzed after wet digestion for the seven trace elements using Atomic Absorption Spectrometer. The mean concentrations of Zn, Cu and Fe in human milk are higher than the corresponding values in cow milk while the mean concentrations of Cr, Mn, Pb and Cd in human milk are lower than the corresponding values in cow milk. The concentrations of all elements in human milk collected in the afternoon are higher than those in samples collected in the morning. The experimental results show that there is an apparent decline in the mean elemental concentration levels as the stage of lactation progressed. Our results for human milk are also compared with the corresponding values of different countries available in literature.