Phytonutrients in Breast Milk and Their Association with Maternal Dietary Intake: A Longitudinal Study in Adjamé

Carotenoids and flavonoids are essential nutrients for infant development. As for today, there is limited data on their availability in breast milk and the associated dietary factors, particularly in Côte d’Ivoire, where the diet of breastfeeding women is largely composed of cooked meals. The primary objective of this study was to determine the levels of carotenoids and flavonoids in breast milk using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) during two lactation periods in Ivorian women who consumed two different diets. Mature breast milk samples were collected from healthy breastfeeding women on the 45th and 105th postpartum days. The mothers’ dietary frequencies were obtained using a questionnaire. A final sample of 60 breastfeeding women was selected. Two predominant basic diets were identified: cooked rice with palm nut sauce (R-SG) and attiéké with fried fish in refined palm oil accompanied by a paste of cooked vegetables (onion-red chili-fresh tomato) (A-PF). An overall increase in flavonoid levels was observed in all women’s milk on the 105th postpartum day, in contrast to carotenoid levels, where only the β-carotene content increased on the 105th day in the milk of women who consumed the R-SG diet (from 1.82 ± 0.30 µg/L to 2.13 ± 0.6 µg/L). The quercetin content in the milk of women on the A-PF diet (from 10.8 ± 1.6 µg/L to 19.98 ± 3.6 µg/L) significantly increased (p<0.05) compared to other flavonoids. Based on our results, consumption of cooked rice with palm nut sauce and attiéké with fried fish in refined palm oil accompanied by cooked vegetable sauce (onion-red chili-fresh tomato) increases the concentrations of quercetin, kaempferol, and epicatechin in milk. These findings can serve as dietary guidelines for breastfeeding mothers to improve β-carotene and flavonoid levels in breast milk, thus promoting infant growth and development.