Breast milk jaundice; the role of lipoprotein lipase and the free fatty acids.

Lipoprotein lipase activity and free fatty acid concentrations were measured in samples of milk collected from mothers of infants without and with prolonged neonatal jaundice. The lipoprotein lipase and free fatty acid values in the milk from mothers of infants without jaundice were found to increase with the duration of breast-feeding until the 12th post-partum day, and then to fall to the original levels. In the group of mothers with jaundiced infants both lipoprotein lipase and free fatty acid values were found within normal limits when measured between 15th and 37th days post-partum. These findings indicate that increased values of lipoprotein lipase and free fatty acids in the milk are not responsible for the development of breast-milk jaundice.