On 10 August 1998 13:05, Steve Goodal wrote:
Subject: milk
Now that the silly season is upon us, may I venture to air the
following question:
A GP phoned last Friday. A 32 year old non-pregnant female had
presented with a bottle containing what she claimed was her own
breast milk. At this stage the GP is not interested in investigating
galactorrhoea, but would like to establish whether the sample is
truly her breast milk (as opposed to cow's milk etc). The GP says
the sample "does not smell like breast milk" but, not being an expert
in these matters, I am unable to comment. The sample is slightly
pink, and appears to contain blood, but has not been tested for
anything yet.
Any suggestions please?
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In 1962 I was involved in an interesting case, with forensic implications,
in which it was important to distinguish between a sample of breast milk
and a sample of cow's milk.
Using the then relatively new technology of GLC, I separated the individual
fatty acids in each sample, therebye producing a "fingerprint" of the
sample. The fingerprints were quite different, and the differences seemed
to be quite real, based on follow-up work with authentic samples of human
and cow's milk.
There is an extensive literature on the differences in content (lipids and
other components) of human and cow's milk, and there is a useful summary in
the Geigy Scientific Tables. The key point is that relative to cow's milk,
human milk contains a much higher percentage of unsaturated fatty acids,
particularly 18:1 and 18:2, and this difference should make it possible to
differentiate between the two.
Gilbert Hill
J. Gilbert Hill, M.D., Ph.D. Phone: 416-813-6666
The Hospital For Sick Children
555 University Avenue e-mail: [log in to unmask]
Toronto ON M5G 1X8
Canada Fax: 416-813-6257
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