Assessment of Bile Acid Profile in Breast Milk

• Grant number: 25/00204-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: April 01, 2025
• End date: March 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Nutrition - Nutrition Biochemistry
• Principal Investigator: Jarlei Fiamoncini
• Grantee: Vírginia Paula Teixeira Silva
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas (FCF). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 22/02941-6 - Bile acids as determinants of postprandial metabolism and intestinal microbial colonization in newborns, AP.PNGP.PI

Abstract

Breast milk provides newborns with bioactive compounds and essential nutrients that contribute to infant development. Bile acids (BA) were identified in breast milk in 1980; however, studies evaluating the variability of BA composition in breast milk in large cohort studies and using modern analytical methods are still lacking. Bile acids stimulate lipases present in breast milk, favoring the absorption and digestion of lipids. Considering that the presence of BA in plasma presents high interindividual variability, it is plausible to assume that BA concentrations in breast milk also vary among different women. Thus, each newborn may be exposed to different BA concentrations during breastfeeding and have distinct responses to these lipases, resulting in differences in the digestion and absorption process of nutrients from breast milk. This proposal seeks to establish the relationship between the BA profile in serum and breast milk by the BA profile in 120 pairs of samples from a human milk and umbilical cord blood serum biobank, using high-resolution mass spectrometry. The results obtained will be fundamental for a better understanding of the interindividual variability of the presence of AB in breast milk and will serve as a basis for future studies that explore how AB can contribute to the development of infants.