Gestation and the neonatal period are crucial periods in infant development. Many components of breast milk, including fatty acids, play an important role in strengthening the immune system. The aim of our research was to evaluate the fatty acid profiles of milk from 69 mothers, including subjects having a normal weight, obesity, or gestational diabetes. For the analyses, we used gas chromatography (GC) with flame ionization detection (FID) and GC coupled with mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The main fatty acids found in breast milk were palmitic acid (C16:0; 26–28%), linoleic acid (C18:2; 23–28%), and α-linolenic acid linoleic acid (C18:3; 15–17%), followed by myristic acid (C14:0; 5–8%), lauric acid (C12:0; 4–6%) and stearic acid (C18:0; 4–5%). The average breakdown of fatty acids was 50% saturated, 44% polyunsaturated, and 6% monounsaturated. Breast milk samples were classified using principal component analysis and linear discriminant analysis. Results showed that milk from the two major groups of obese and normal body mass index (BMI) could be distinguished with an accuracy of 89.66%. Breast milk samples of Hungarian and Ukrainian mothers showed significant differences based on the fatty acid composition, which variations are attributable to the mothers’ dietary habits.

Obesity is a global health problem even among pregnant women. Obesity alters quality of labor, such as preterm labor, prolonged labor, and higher oxytocin requirements in pregnant women. The most important factors to play a role in the altered gestational ...

Development of biocompatible multifunctional polymeric drug carriers is crucial in modern pharmaceutics aimed to create “smart” drugs. The high potential of the PEGylated comb-like polymeric nanocarrier (PNC) in delivering both traditional and experimental drugs to tumor cells in vitro and in vivo has been demonstrated previously. In the present study, we investigated the general toxicity of polyethylene glycol (PEG) processed with both covalent and non-covalent attachments of PEG to compose a comb-like polymer that behaves like a simple chain of n monomers decorated with swollen side chains. The PNC possesses properties of a water-soluble surfactant containing methyl-terminated PEG side branches in some monomer units attached covalently to the carbon chain backbone. We have demonstrated that the synthesized PNC possesses weak toxic effects toward human leukemia cells (HL-60 and Jurkat lines), as well as toward hepatocellular (HepG2), colon (HCT116) and breast (MCF-7) tumor cell lines. Additionally, after a long period (20 days) of intraperitoneal administration, the PNC had no significant toxic effects in laboratory white mice (470 mg/kg body mass in 1 ml) and Wistar rats (440 mg/kg body mass in 10 ml). The developed PNC we studied can be qualified as a compound of grade 4 toxicity (low toxicity substance). The reduced toxicity of this PNC in combination with its improved bioavailability and previously detected capability to enhance cytotoxicity toward tumor cells in vitro and potential tumor treatment effects in vivo suggests its potential as a safe drug delivery platform for treating various diseases, especially cancer.