Comparative lipidomics analysis of human, bovine and caprine milk by UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS

Although infant formula represents an important human milk substitute, it has been shown to contain many different lipid structures compared to human milk. In this study, the lipidome and fatty acid composition of human, bovine and caprine milk were analyzed and compared. A total of 13 lipid classes (including TG, DG, SM, PC, Cer, HexCer, Hex2Cer, PE, PG, PS, PI, PA and CL) were analyzed. Human milk was richer in TG containing LA, SM containing ULCFA and PLs containing ARA, DHA and DGLA. Moreover, there were no differential DG and SM species between human and caprine milk. A total of 215 and 147 lipids were identified as potential biomarkers that could be used to further analyze differences in the biological properties of human, bovine and caprine milk. This comprehensive analysis will hopefully help in the design of infant formula more suitable for Chinese babies.