Poster Presenter

Toxic And Essential Trace Elements In Human Milk From Moroccan Lactating Women: Association With Dietary Habits And Other Factors
Pr Sedki Azeddine, Pr Lekouch Nadra
Morocco

The aim of this study was to determine the concentration of some essential and toxic metals in the colostrum and transitory human milk in conjunction with various factors that may influence their concentrations, place of residence, smoking, as well as socioeconomic and somatometric characteristics.

Toxic and essential trace elements ( Lead, Cadmium, Copper and Zinc) contents were determined in individual milk samples from 342 healthy women, 16-36 years old age, living in fours quarters old town new town, Sidi Moussa ( rural quarter and El Azzouzia a polluted quarter (wastewater spreading field). Atomic absorption spectrophotometer with Zeeman background composition was used for such analysis. The mean concentrations of 342 milk samples were; 5.8± 2.5 µg Pb/l; 4.5±1,8 mg Zn/l; 0.46 ±0.12 mg Cu/l and 0.5±0.2µg/l . These values are higher than those in milk control women's (2.5 ±0.6 µgPb/l; 2.7 ±1.1 mgZn /l; 0,3± 0,1mg Cu/l and 0.2±0.1µg/l).Hence, human milk can be able very good metallic pollution indicator. Human milk was fractionated and the trace elements content of the different fractions was compared to results from cow's milk. The casein fraction in cow's milk contains a large proportion of the total amounts of the elements cited above (Cu 27 %, Zn 64 %, Pb 18% and Cd 22 %), whereas human casein only binds minor amounts (Cu 10 %, Zn 16%, Pb 6% and Cd 12%).

The present results point out, that there are high risks for the sucking babies, especially for Pb. But there is no risk for, Cd, Zn and Cu however a negative competition is observed between Pb and zinc levels. Infect, theses trace elements, detected in baby hair (0.32 ±0.1 µgPb /g; 25± 2.9 mgZn /g ; 3.1 ±0.4 mgCu/g; and 0.2±0.1µg/g) confirm this conclusion. The metallic pollution sources in this area are very various, but the food product in this zone is the principal source for pollution especially for Cd and Pb.