Human milk glycosaminoglycans: the state of the art and future perspectives

Recently, a complete characterization and detailed evaluation of the glycosaminoglicans of human milk were performed. The total glycosaminoglican content in milk from healthy mothers having delivered term or preterm newborns showed a constant pattern which was essentially composed of two main polysaccharides: chondroitin sulfate (60-70%) and heparin (30-40%). Moreover, considerable variations of glycosaminoglican concentration were found during the first month of lactation, the highest values being present in colostrum compared to mature milk. Metabolism and potential biological functions of human milk glycosaminoglicans are hypothesized and future studies are encouraged.