Chemical characterization of the oligosaccharides in Bryde's whale ( Balaenoptera edeni) and Sei whale ( Balaenoptera borealis lesson) milk

• Published in: Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part B: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Vol. 146; no. 2; pp. 153 - 159
• Main Authors: Urashima, Tadasu, Kobayashi, Mami, Asakuma, Sadaki, Uemura, Yusuke, Arai, Ikichi, Fukuda, Kenji, Saito, Tadao, Mogoe, Toshihiro, Ishikawa, Hajime, Fukui, Yutaka
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Inc 01.02.2007
• Subjects: Animals; Balaenoptera; Balaenoptera borealis; Balaenoptera borealis lesson; Balaenoptera edeni; Bottle-Nosed Dolphin; Bryde's whale; Carbohydrate Sequence; Cetacea; Colostrum - chemistry; Female; Lactose - analogs & derivatives; Lactose - chemistry; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; Marine; Milk - chemistry; Milk oligosaccharides; Molecular Sequence Data; Oligosaccharides - chemistry; Sei whale; Sialic Acids - chemistry; Species Specificity; Bryde's whale; Cetacea; Balaenoptera edeni; Balaenoptera borealis lesson; Milk oligosaccharides; Sei whale
• ISSN: 1096-4959; 1879-1107
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpb.2006.10.094

Samples of milk from a Bryde's whale and a Sei whale contained 2.7 g/100 mL and 1.7 g/100 mL of hexose, respectively. Both contained lactose as the dominant saccharide along with small amounts of Neu5Ac(α2-3)Gal(β1-4)Glc (3′-N-acetylneuraminyllactose), Neu5Ac(α2-6)Gal(β1-4)Glc (6′- N-acetylneuraminyllactose) and Neu5Ac(α2-6)Gal(β1-4)GlcNAc(β1-3)Gal(β1-4)Glc (LST c). The dominance of lactose in the carbohydrate of these milks is similar to that of Minke whale milk and bottlenose dolphin colostrum, but the oligosaccharide patterns are different from those of these two species, illustrating the heterogeneity of milk oligosaccharides among the Cetacea.