Skip Navigation
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

Use this QR code to view the newest version of this document
Use this QR code to view the newest version of this document

Your Environment. Your Health.

Publication Detail

Title: Choline intake and genetic polymorphisms influence choline metabolite concentrations in human breast milk and plasma.

Authors: Fischer, Leslie M; da Costa, Kerry Ann; Galanko, Joseph; Sha, Wei; Stephenson, Brigitte; Vick, Julie; Zeisel, Steven H

Published In Am J Clin Nutr, (2010 Aug)

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Choline is essential for infant nutrition, and breast milk is a rich source of this nutrient. Common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) change dietary requirements for choline intake. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine whether total choline intake and/or SNPs influence concentrations of choline and its metabolites in human breast milk and plasma. DESIGN: We gave a total of 103 pregnant women supplemental choline or a placebo from 18 wk gestation to 45 d postpartum and genotyped the women for 370 common SNPs. At 45 d postpartum, we measured choline metabolite concentrations in breast milk and plasma and assessed the dietary intake of choline by using a 3-d food record. RESULTS: On average, lactating women in our study ate two-thirds of the recommended intake for choline (Adequate Intake = 550 mg choline/d). Dietary choline intake (no supplement) correlated with breast-milk phosphatidylcholine and plasma choline concentrations. A supplement further increased breast-milk choline, betaine, and phosphocholine concentrations and increased plasma choline and betaine concentrations. We identified 5 SNPs in MTHFR that altered the slope of the intake-metabolite concentration relations, and we identified 2 SNPs in PEMT that shifted these curves upward. Individuals who shared sets of common SNPs were outliers in plots of intake-metabolite concentration curves; we suggest that these SNPs should be further investigated to determine how they alter choline metabolism. CONCLUSION: Total intake of choline and genotype can influence the concentrations of choline and its metabolites in the breast milk and blood of lactating women and thereby affect the amount of choline available to the developing infant. This study was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00678925.

PubMed ID: 20534746 Exiting the NIEHS site

MeSH Terms: No MeSH terms associated with this publication

Back
to Top