Milk-Hormones: Narrative Review

Abstract

Milk is the major source of nourishment for newborn mammals prior to the other types of food. The composition of the cow’s milk widely varies between the different breeds and also during the different stages of lactation. Milk from animals contains fat, carbohydrates, vitamins, proteins, minerals and water. Water is the main constituent of milk which dilutes the milk and allowing its secretion from the body. Milk is the secretion of Mammary glands; hence it consists of constituents from the blood plasma, accordingly hormones that are transported in blood may be detectable in milk. The importance of hormones was discussed about decades back but still there are more concerns to look at the hormones as biomarkers in some serious problems and during pregnancy. In recent research, it has been found that further property of hormones in dairy items has conceivable effect on human wellbeing including the part of a few estrogens and insulin-like development factor which leads to bosom, prostate and endometrial tumors. Dairy animals' normally contains various steroid and protein (peptide) hormones in minute quantities. The most critical hormones found in milk and other dairy items which are identified by diagnostic techniques comprises of prolactin, steroids including estrogens, progesterone, corticoids, and androgens. Additionally, the presence of different hormones, for example, insulin-like development factor-1 (IGF-1) and neighborhood hormones including prostaglandins (PGs), in dairy items has been accounted for. It has been expected that a large portion of the hormones are moved into milk by dissemination. In this review we concentrated on several aspects of presence of hormones in dairy foods with especial emphasize on cow’s milk as a major source of consuming milk for humans.