Analysis of 1,543 milk samples identifies molecular markers connecting maternal nutrition, mammary function and infant growth, while highlighting a possible vitamin B5 pathway.
The company said researchers at NYU Grossman School of Medicine have identified shared molecular patterns in human milk that appear to connect maternal nutrition, the biology of the mammary gland and infant growth. Published in Science, the work analysed milk samples from mothers in Canada, Pakistan and Burkina Faso and used a mix of molecular profiling and machine-learning tools to look beyond individual nutrients and ask what milk composition may reveal about the gland that produces it.
Human milk has long been understood as a dynamic fluid shaped by maternal diet, health and stage of lactation. Earlier reviews of lactation biology have described how proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, immune factors and other bioactive compounds can change with maternal status and the infant’s needs. The new study extends that line of work by treating milk as a marker of mammary gland function, rather than simply as a list of nutrients.
Across 1,543 milk samples, the researchers combined data on metabolites, proteins, micronutrients, macronutrients and human milk oligosaccharides, then looked for patterns linked to both maternal supplementation and infant growth. They report that supplementation in two randomised nutrition trials was associated with more stable or improved growth outcomes in infants at higher risk of faltering. The analysis also pointed to seven candidate biomarkers tied to maternal nutritional status, infant growth and mammary biology, including short-chain acylcarnitines, lysine, 6′-sialyllactose and selenium.
Liat Shenhav, the study’s senior author, said human milk offers “a rare, non-invasive window into the biology of the lactating mammary gland”. April Jauhal, the first author, said the findings underline “the intimate link between maternal nutrition, metabolic health and mammary function”, and suggested that one possible pathway involves pantothenic acid, coenzyme A and the metabolite C5. The researchers propose that lower availability of vitamin B5 may affect energy metabolism in the gland, although that remains a working hypothesis rather than a settled conclusion.
The paper comes alongside a companion Science study from the International Milk Composition Consortium, which examined what parts of milk can be altered through maternal nutrition. That work found that lactation supplementation increased several B vitamins, while many other milk components stayed relatively stable. Taken together, the two studies support a more nuanced view of breast milk: some elements appear responsive to diet, while others may reflect broader biological states in the mammary gland itself.
Researchers and public health experts have long noted that milk composition is shaped by maternal nutrition and physiology, but the new findings suggest those influences may be more tightly linked to mammary function than previously appreciated. The authors say they are now testing whether the vitamin B5-coenzyme A-C5 pathway affects milk production and are also examining colostrum and transitional milk to understand how the gland’s functional state emerges around birth and early lactation.
Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical judgment, advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
