ABSTRACT
Vitamins are organic compounds required in small amounts for normal growth and maintenance. Those soluble in fat are vitamins A, D, E, and K. Since they are required, the emphasis on human milk as an ideal food has focused attention on the question, are there sufficient quantities of these vitamins in human milk for the needs of solely breast-fed infants? Application of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) has resulted in reevaluation of older data, with reliable data now being obtained on the amounts of the vitamins in human milk. The reports about the influence of diet on the carotene and retinol contents of milk are contradictory and will await more carefully controlled feeding trials and analyses by HPLC for resolution. Bates et al. found that up to 70% of vitamin A in human milk being drip fed was destroyed during controlled exposure to daylight.
