Differential changes of fat-soluble vitamins and pollutants during lactation in northern elephant seal mother-pup pairs.

We investigated the changes of vitamins A and E as well as PCBs and DDTs during lactation in northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris) mother-pup pairs. On average, milk vitamin A concentrations were 6 times higher during late lactation than during early lactation, a pattern that differs dram...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A: Molecular & Integrative Physiology
Main Authors: Debier, Cathy, Crocker, Daniel E., Houser, Dorian S., Vanden Berghe, Marie, Fowler, Melinda, Mignolet, Eric, de Tillesse, Tanguy, Rees, Jean-François, Thomé, Jean-Pierre, Larondelle, Yvan
Other Authors: UCL - SST/ISV - Institut des sciences de la vie
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 2012
Subjects:
Adipose Tissue
Seals
Earless
Vitamin A
Vitamin E
Vitamins
Animals
Suckling
DDT
Environmental Pollutants
Female
Lactation
Milk
Polychlorinated Biphenyls
Elephant Seal
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/2078/119426
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cbpa.2012.04.001
Description
Summary:We investigated the changes of vitamins A and E as well as PCBs and DDTs during lactation in northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris) mother-pup pairs. On average, milk vitamin A concentrations were 6 times higher during late lactation than during early lactation, a pattern that differs dramatically from terrestrial mammals. Vitamin A concentrations also significantly increased in the inner blubber throughout lactation, whereas they remained constant in the outer blubber. Similar dynamics were observed for PCBs and DDTs in maternal blubber and milk. Blubber appears to be an important storage site for vitamin A and organochlorines in seals and a direct transfer of those molecules to the mammary gland may occur. The dynamics of vitamin A, PCBs and DDTs differed from those of vitamin E. There was a significant drop in milk vitamin E concentrations between early and late lactation, which is the usual pattern observed in terrestrial mammals. The dynamics of vitamin E in the blubber layers also differed from those of vitamin A, suggesting different mechanisms of mobilization and transfer into the milk.

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