Mineral Profiling of Preterm, Term Breast Milk, and Commercial Infant Formula: Evaluating Nutritional Adequacy for Premature Neonates.

This study assessed the mineral adequacy of mothers' own milk, term milk, and preterm formula for premature neonates, evaluated toxic element contents using Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectrometry, and audited formula labels. Preterm and term milk were inadequate in meeting European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology Hepatology and Nutrition-modeled mineral requirements for preterm infants at an assumed enteral intake of 165 mL/kg/d, particularly for calcium, chromium, phosphorus, magnesium, zinc, sodium, and selenium. Preterm formula met or even exceeded the requirements for calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and zinc more frequently than human milk (P<0.05), though these findings should be interpreted cautiously given the small number of formula samples (n=5). Mineral composition was similar between preterm and term milk, except for higher phosphorus in term milk (P<0.05). Aluminum concentrations were greater in human milk－preterm and term: 16.2 and 5.9 µg/mL, respectively－than in preterm formula at 1.16 µg/mL (P<0.05). Labeled and measured formula values for calcium, sodium, sulfur, strontium, titanium, and zinc varied significantly (P<0.05). Despite lower mineral content, mothers' milk with individualized fortification is recommended for its immune benefits. These findings underline the need for improved formula labeling and monitoring of toxic elements.