Health Risk Assessments of Selected Trace Elements and Factors Associated with Their Levels in Human Breast Milk from Pretoria, South Africa

While breast milk is the recommended food for infants up to at least six months, exogenously derived compounds such as trace elements have been widely reported in human milk which may make it become toxic or a source of pollutants to the infants. Numerous short- and long-term health effects have been associated with high body-burdens of trace elements, which are amplified in infants. The current study determined the levels and possible contributing factors of six trace elements in breast milk of nursing mothers from a local hospital in Pretoria. Extraction of trace elements employed a digestion technique using perchloric and nitric acid in a ratio of 1:3, while Inductively Coupled Plasma-Membrane Spectrophotometry was used to identify and quantify their levels in breast milk. Concentrations of Cr and Mn were the highest in breast milk, with values ranging from 0.30 to 5.72 mu g/L and 0.23 to 5.13 mu g/L, respectively. Levels of Co, As, Pb and Cd ranged from

Automated summary

The study found that exogenously derived compounds in breast milk, such as trace elements, can potentially have negative impacts on infant health. Levels of six trace elements in breast milk from nursing mothers in Pretoria were analyzed, with chromium and manganese showing the highest concentrations.