Human Milk Metabolomics Are Related to Maternal Adiposity, Infant Growth Rate and Allergies: The Chinese Human Milk Project

The metabolomic profiles of Chinese human milk have been poorly documented. The objective of the study was to explore associations between human milk metabotypes, maternal adiposity, infant growth patterns, and risk of allergies. Two hundred mother–infant dyads from seven cities were randomly selected from the Chinese Human Milk Project (CHMP). Untargeted human milk metabolomic profiles were determined using HPLC-MS/MS. Two human milk metabotypes were identified using principal component analysis. Principal component (PC) 1 was characterized by high linoleic acid metabolites with low purine nucleosides and metabolites of glutamate and glutathione metabolism. PC 2 was characterized by high glycerophospholipids and sphingomyelins content. Higher PC1 scores were associated with slower infant growth rate and higher ambient temperature (p < 0.05). Higher PC 2 scores were related to higher maternal BMI and increased risk of infant allergies (p < 0.05). Future work is needed to understand the biologic mechanisms of these human milk metabotypes.