(PTFS09-03-26) B-vitamin and Choline Concentrations in Colostrum: Results From the Multi-site E-MILQ Study

Sunday, July 26, 2026

2:38 PM - 2:42 PM ET

Location: Prince George's Hall B-E (The Hub) - Poster Theater 1 / Poster Board Number: PT1-3

Presenting Author(s)

Daniela Hampel, PhD (she/her/hers)

Professional Reseacher
University of California, USDA
Davis, California, United States

Disclosure(s): No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

Co-Author(s)

Lindsay H. Allen, PhD

Research Scientist
USDA, ARS
Davis, California, United States
Dd

Daniela de Barros Mucci, PhD

Rio de Janeiro State University
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
M Munirul Islam, PhD (he/him/his)

Scientist
International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research (icddr,b)
Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Gilberto Kac, Sr., PhD (he/him/his)

Professor of Nutritional Epidemiology
Federal University of Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
CM

Christian Mølgaard, MD, PhD

University of Copenhagen
Copenhagen, Denmark
KM

Kim F. Michaelsen, MD

University of Copenhagen
Copenhagen, Denmark
SM

Sophie E. Moore, Professor, PhD

Reader
King’s College London, MRC Unit The Gambia at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
London, England, United Kingdom
SS

Setareh Shahab-Ferdows

University of California, Davis, United States

Disclosure(s):

Daniela Hampel, PhD: No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

Objectives: Human milk (HM) B-vitamins are essential for infant development, yet information about colostrum concentrations is limited. We assessed colostrum B-vitamin and choline concentrations collected within the first 72h after birth in the Early-Mothers, Infants, and Lactation Quality (E-MILQ) study and compared the results to the 50th percentile Reference Values (RVs) established in the MILQ study for HM 4–17 days and 3-4 months.

Methods: B-vitamins and choline were analyzed in colostrum (n = 247) collected from well-nourished mothers in Bangladesh, Brazil, Denmark, and The Gambia using validated LC–MS and bioanalyzer methods. Median concentrations and interquartile ranges (IQR) were calculated to describe vitamin concentrations across all countries. The percentage of colostrum concentrations above and below the 50^th percentile RVs was calculated.

Results: Median colostrum concentrations [µg/L] and IQR across sites were: B1 (4.49; 2.1-7.7), B2 (95.2; 70.0-140), B3 (395; 286-554), B5 (508; 226-1294), B6 (11.2; 8.1-14.4), B7 (1.33; 0.54-3.1), B12 (0.99; 0.53-2.1), and choline (43.4; 15.6-78.9). Almost all samples had concentrations below the B1 50th percentile RVs for 4-17 days/3-4 months (0.8/0.4%), while 87-92.7% of samples showed B12 concentrations at or above the selected benchmarks. The percentage of samples with concentrations > 50^th percentile RVs were less than 40% for all remaining vitamins (RVs 4-17 days/3-4 months): B2 (16.6/37.2%), B3 (1.2/0.8%), B5 (8.1/8.1%), B6 (4.5/0.4%), B7 (16.6/3.2%), and choline (6.1/11.0%).

Conclusions: Colostrum B-vitamin and choline concentrations are much lower than those in milk from 4-17 days and 3-4 months postpartum, except for B12, which is substantially higher. These findings indicate that using transitional or mature milk RVs to assess colostrum's nutritional content is not appropriate to evaluate colostrum nutritional status.

Funding Sources: Gates Foundation; USDA-ARS intramural funds.