Toxicant early-life exposure: A mini review of the comprehensive LC-MS/MS analysis of xenobiotics in breast milk samples

Abstract

The analysis of xenobiotics in breast milk is crucial for understanding the impact of early-life exposure on infant health. This mini-review highlights some recent advancements in mass spectrometry, focusing on SCIEX MS systems, to detect and quantify a wide range of xenobiotics in breast milk, an important nutrient source for infants. Advanced LC-MS/MS methods have been developed to achieve high sensitivity, with detection limits reaching picogram to nanogram per milliliter levels. These methods allow for the identification of xenobiotics like plasticizers and perfluorinated substances, as well as novel detections of compounds such as pyrrolizidine and tropane alkaloids in breast milk. The review also showcases and discusses the use of LC-HRMS/MS-based non-targeted analysis for profiling xenobiotics in breast milk and stool samples from mother-infant pairs. The approach was able to identify thousands of chemical features, revealing the overlap and distinct chemical patterns across matrices. The LC-HRMS/MS non-targeted analysis has proven to provide new insights into how the chemical exposome interacts with the gut microbiome, highlighting potential health risks associated with dietary and environmental exposures during early development.