Bile salt-stimulated lipase in the milk of Fulani and Kanuri women in Nigeria and native Nepalese women

Human milk provides newborns with several physiologically important protein s not found in cow's milk, including bile salt-stimulated lipase (BSSL) tha t compensates for the reduced lipolytic capability of the newborn intestine . We analyzed the milk of two ethnically distinct groups of women in northe rn Nigeria and Nepal. The milk of the Nepalese women (n = 36) contained sli ghtly more BSSL activity (mean, 38.8 units/mL) than that of Fulani (n = 48; mean, 30.3 units/mL) and Kanuri (n = 90; mean 27.6 units/mL) women in Nige ria. There was also a weak positive correlation between the BSSL content of the milk and the body mass index (BMI) of the lactating women. The BSSL ac tivity declined with the length of lactation For both well-nourished and un dernourished women. The presence of a heat-stable inhibitor of BSSL in cow' s milk was also demonstrated. This finding, along with the decrease in BSSL activity postgestation, could be of significance to populations such as th e Fulani of the western Sahel who supplement the diets of their infants wit h unpasteurized cow's milk.