Effects of refrigeration and freezing on milk fat globule membrane lipids in stored breast milk: Insights from non-targeted lipidomics

Shaolei Wang; Pengyue Wang; Xia Ma; Fengzhi Qiao; Zhe Zhang; Jiadong Li; Huaxi Yi; Cristabelle De Souza; Lanwei Zhang; Kai Lin

doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2024.142478

Effects of refrigeration and freezing on milk fat globule membrane lipids in stored breast milk: Insights from non-targeted lipidomics

Food Chem. 2024 Dec 15:468:142478. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2024.142478. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Shaolei Wang¹, Pengyue Wang², Xia Ma², Fengzhi Qiao¹, Zhe Zhang¹, Jiadong Li³, Huaxi Yi¹, Cristabelle De Souza⁴, Lanwei Zhang⁵, Kai Lin⁶

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Marine Food Processing & Safety Control, College of Food Science and Engineering, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, China.
² National Center of Technology Innovation for Dairy, Hohhot 010000, China.
³ Innochina Biotech Co., Ltd, Shanghai 201400, China.
⁴ Department of Stem Cell Research and Regenerative Medicine, School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
⁵ State Key Laboratory of Marine Food Processing & Safety Control, College of Food Science and Engineering, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁶ State Key Laboratory of Marine Food Processing & Safety Control, College of Food Science and Engineering, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, China. Electronic address: [email protected].

PMID: 39700807
DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2024.142478

Abstract

Breast milk storage provides flexibility for working mothers, though its effects on milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) lipids are not fully understood. This study examined breast milk stored under refrigerated (2 and 4 days) and frozen (7, 14, and 21 days) conditions, finding that these storage durations preserved similar structural characteristics during in vitro gastrointestinal digestion. The analysis focused on MFGM lipid composition under various storage conditions using non-targeted lipidomics. Results revealed that freezing for 14 days reduced phosphatidylserine (PS) levels by 64.55%, while 21 days of freezing significantly decreased both PS (74.59%) and sphingomyelin (SM) (43.85%). Examination of MFGM lipid species indicated that refrigeration for 4 days and freezing for 21 days led to notable reductions in key MFGM lipid species. Thus, breast milk should be refrigerated for up to 4 days to minimize nutrient depletion or frozen for no more than 7 days.

Keywords: Breast milk; Freezing; Lipid stability; MFGM; Phospholipids; Refrigeration.