Incidence of Aflatoxin M1 in human breast milk in Karachi, Pakistan

Aflatoxins are strong toxic and cancer producing substance which can be excreted in lactating humans in the form of aflatoxin M1 (AFM1), exposed to food contaminated with mycotoxins. In the current study, breast milk samples of 62 lactating mothers collected from two well renowned hospitals at Karachi ,were evaluated for AFM1 by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). AFM1 was detected in 10 out of 27 samples collected through Civil Hospital (CH) and 11 out of 35 from Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC). In human breast milk sample collected from Civil Hospital, AFM1 was detected in a range of 28pgmL-1 to 71pgmL-1, and in human breast sample from JPMC level of AFM1 was ranging from 27pgmL-1to 970pgmL-1.The levels of AFM1 in human breast milk detected in the period of studies was found to be frequent (Correlation coefficient (r2= 0.99)), but were limited to a lower level. The levels were found to be lesser than that of FDA limit of 0.05mgkg-1. Development and improvement of the newborn child is quick and hence it is conceivable that exposure of AFM1 through human breast milk contains a noteworthy health impacts. Current study helps to carry out further study to determine the possible sources of exposure of aflatoxin in the women in future.