• Tomoji Maeda, Aki Shioyama, Tomohiko Tairabune, Rika Takeda, Atsushi Sanbe, Akihiko Kikuchi, Kenzo Kudo, and Takeshi Chiba.
• Department of Pharmacology, Nihon Pharmaceutical University, Saitama, Japan.
• Nutrition. 2020 Nov 1; 79-80: 110969.

ObjectivesSerotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5-HT) plays an important role in milk volume homeostasis in the mammary glands during lactation, and 5-HT in milk also may affect infant development. The aim of this study was to investigate changes in 5-HT concentration in breast milk according to the duration of lactation and evaluate whether the 5-HT concentration varied before and after nursing.MethodsHealthy nursing Japanese women who had a natural delivery or underwent a cesarean delivery at Iwate Medical University Hospital were included in this study.ResultsThe mean 5-HT concentration in milk was obtained from multiparous mothers 6 to 7 d after delivery (colostrum) and was significantly higher compared with primiparous mothers (24.3 ± 2.63 versus 18.5 ± 2.60 ng/mL). Additionally, mean 5-HT concentration increased with increasing lactation duration in primiparous women (colostrum: 18.5 ± 2.60; 1 mo postdelivery: 19.8 ± 2.46; 3 mo postdelivery: 22.7 ± 2.55 ng/mL); in particular, the mean 5-HT concentration in breast milk 3 mo after delivery was significantly higher than in colostrum. The mean 5-HT concentrations in breast milk in primiparous mothers immediately before nursing, 1 to 2 h after nursing, and immediately before the next nursing event were 23.6 ± 1.48, 22.82 ± 1.65, and 21.84 ± 1.31 ng/mL, respectively; mean 5-HT concentrations in multiparous women were 25.4 ± 1.65, 23.6 ± 2.20, or 22.4 ± 2.09 ng/mL, respectively. There was no significant difference in 5-HT concentrations at each time point between the groups.ConclusionThis information may be useful in determining the role of 5-HT in breast milk on infant development and growth.Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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