Breast milk is the best, most complete form of nutrition for newborns and infants. However, human milk can contain aflatoxin M₁ (AFM₁) upon ingestion of dietary mycotoxin contaminants, namely, aflatoxin B₁ (AFB₁), by lactating mothers. AFB₁ and its hydroxylated metabolite AFM₁ are potent carcinogens and thus an important issue in food safety and public health. This study is the first to explore the presence of AFM₁ in breast milk samples from Bangladesh and assess infant exposure to this toxin, as a consequence of maternal mycotoxin intake. A total of 62 breast milk samples were collected from nursing mothers in Sylhet region of Bangladesh. The milk samples were collected between October 2019 and March 2020 and analyzed by a sensitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. AFM₁ was detected in 51.6% of the breast milk samples (colostrum, transitional and mature milk), with a mean concentration of 4.42 ± 0.56 pg/mL, and in the range between LOD (4.0 pg/mL) and 6.66 pg/mL. The frequent detection of AFM₁ in breast milk indicates widespread dietary exposure to mycotoxins in our cohort. The estimated average daily intake of AFM₁ for all nursed infants was 0.49 ng/kg b.w./day. No significant correlations were observed between AFM₁ levels in human milk and food items regularly consumed by nursing women. Overall, AFM₁ levels in breast milk samples from the Sylhet region of Bangladesh are moderate, and lower than the permissible levels established for AFM₁ in dairy milk or infant formulae (50 and 25 ng/kg, respectively). Yet, this first data for AFM₁ breast milk contaminant levels just reflect the recent situation in one cohort, and monitoring should be continued.

母乳是新生儿和婴儿最好、最完整的营养形式。然而，哺乳期的母亲在摄入膳食真菌毒素污染物，即黄曲霉毒素 B ₁ (AFB ₁ ) 后，母乳可能含有黄曲霉毒素 M ₁ (AFM ₁ ) 。AFB ₁及其羟基化代谢物 AFM ₁是强致癌物，因此是食品安全和公共卫生中的一个重要问题。这项研究首次探索了 AFM ₁的存在在来自孟加拉国的母乳样本中，并评估婴儿对这种毒素的暴露，这是母体摄入霉菌毒素的结果。总共从孟加拉国锡尔赫特地区的哺乳母亲那里收集了 62 份母乳样本。牛奶样品是在 2019 年 10 月至 2020 年 3 月期间收集的，并通过灵敏的酶联免疫吸附测定进行分析。在 51.6% 的母乳样品（初乳、过渡乳和成熟乳）中检测到AFM ₁，平均浓度为 4.42 ± 0.56 pg/mL，范围在 LOD (4.0 pg/mL) 和 6.66 pg/mL 之间. 母乳中频繁检测到 AFM ₁表明我们的队列中广泛存在真菌毒素的饮食暴露。AFM ₁的估计平均每日摄入量所有哺乳婴儿的体重为 0.49 纳克/千克体重/天。母乳中的AFM ₁水平与哺乳期妇女经常食用的食物之间未观察到显着相关性。总体而言，孟加拉国锡尔赫特地区母乳样品中的AFM ₁水平适中，低于为乳制品或婴儿配方奶粉中确定的 AFM ₁允许水平（分别为 50 和 25 ng/kg）。然而，AFM ₁母乳污染物水平的第一个数据只是反映了一个队列的近期情况，应该继续监测。