Sialic acid-containing glycoconjugates in human lactation urine.

The excretion rate of neutral hexoses, fucose and sialic acid of oligosaccharide and glycopeptide fraction has been determined in lactation urine. Thin layer chromatography has been used to investigate the excretion pattern of oligosaccharides, specially sialyl-oligosaccharides, during the course of lactation and after weaning. Lactation urine contains sialyloligosaccharides which are not present in normal urine and their presence has been studied up to the 3rd week after weaning. These results indicate a mammary origin for most of these compounds and confirm the hypothesis of previous research.