Breast riboflavin

An example of the difference between the AI and the EAR is provided by riboflavin. Very few data exist on the nutrient requirements of very young infants. However, human milk is the sole recommended food for the first 4 to 6 months, so the AI of the vitamin riboflavin for this life stage group is based on the amount in breast milk consumed by healthy full-term infants. Conversely, the riboflavin EAR for adults is based on a number of studies in humans relating dietary intake of riboflavin to biochemical markers of riboflavin status and development of clinical deficiency symptoms. 

Van Herwaarden, A. E., Wagenaar, E., Merino, G., Jonker, J. W., Rosing, H., Beijnen, J. H., and Schinkel, A. H. (200. Multidrug transporter ABCG2/breast cancer resistance protein secretes riboflavin (vitamin B2) into milk. Mol. Cell. Biol. 27,1247-1253. 

Hughes, J., and Sanders, T.A., 1979. Riboflavin levels in the diet and breast milk of vegans and omnivores. The Proceedings of the Nutrition Society. 38(2) 95A. 

The effect of low-dose gamma radiation on the B vitamins in pork chops and chicken breasts was investigated by Fox et al. (67). Over the range of dose (0.5 to 6.7 kGy) and temperature (- 20 to + 20°C) studied, the loss of riboflavin was relatively small. These radiation conditions are appropriate for both trichina elimination in pork and salmonella control in chicken. 

Human breast milk provides far too little phosphorus, iron, vitamin D, vitamin E, thiamin, and vitamin B-6 and is low in calories, protein, calcium, riboflavin, niacin, and pantothenic acid. Hence, reliance solely on this food for the feeding of infants aged 6 months and older is likely to result... 

Nail, P.A., Thomas, M.R., and Eakin, B.S., The effect of thiamin and riboflavin supplementation on the level of those vitamins in human breast milk and urine. Am. J. Clin. Nutr., 33, 198-204, 1980. 

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