Breast milk jaundice: in vitro inhibition of rat liver bilirubin-uridine diphosphate glucuronyltransferase activity and Z protein-bromosulfophthalein binding by human breast milk.

ABSTRACT

PIP: 24 samples of breastmilk from 9 mothers of infants suffering from breastmilk jaundice were studied. 8 samples of milk from mothers of nonjaundiced infants, along with 5 formula milks enriched with polyunsaturated fatty acids, served as controls. Milks from mothers with jaundiced infants had no inhibitory effect when assayed immediately after thawing. However, after these milk samples were stored at 4 degrees, they strongly inhibited bilirubin conjugation (80.3% inhibition of uridine diphosphate glucuronyltransferase activity) and (BSP) bromosulfophthalein binding to cytoplasmic Z protein (dye binding inhibited 82.1%). There was no effect on BSP binding to Y protein (intable). Heating the milk to 56 degrees modified the results in the following manner; when the milk was heated immediately after thawing, no inhibitory effect was seen, even after storage for 96 hours. On the other hand, when the milk was 1st stored for 96 hours and then heated, it had the same inhibitory effects as the milks which were stored without heating. The present study shows that pathologic breast milk will inhibit BSP-Z protein binding only when stored under conditions that also cause the appearance of the capacity to inhibit bilirubin conjugation in vitro, as well as causing the liberation of nonesterified fatty acids. Thus, the appearance of this inhibitory capacity in vitro seems linked to the lipolytic activity particular to pathologic milks.