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ARS Home » Plains Area » Houston, Texas » Children's Nutrition Research Center » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #69366
Title: BIOCHEMICAL EFFECTS OF DIETARY LINOLEIC/ALPHA-LINOLENIC ACID RATIO IN TERM INFANTS

Author
item JENSEN, CRAIG - BAYLOR COLL OF MEDICINE
item CHEN, HUIMING - BAYLOR COLL OF MEDICINE
item FRALEY, J - BAYLOR COLL OF MEDICINE
item ANDERSON, ROBERT - BAYLOR COLL OF MEDICINE
item HEIRD, WILLIAM - BAYLOR COLL OF MEDICINE

Submitted to: Lipids
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/13/1996
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Fatty acids called docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and arachidonic acid (AA) are important parts of the fat content of membranes, especially those in the eye and brain. Both these acids are in human milk but not in infant formulas available today, so formula-fed babies have to make their own substances called alpha-linolenic and linoleic acid (LNA and LA). But there is evidence that formula-fed babies can't make enough DHA and AA to put them on a par with breast-fed babies' blood and red-blood-cell levels. Various scientific groups have recommended different LNA/LA dietary intake ratios to help them. We evaluated four different LNA/LA intake ratios, none of which resulted in the formula-fed babies having a DHA or AA level similar to that of breast-fed babies. Changing the LNA content or the LA/LNA ratio of formulas probably won't help formula-fed babies reach the same DHA levels as breast-fed babies. Supplementing formulas with DHA and/or AA might; the amount added would depend on the LNA/LA ratio. ABSTRACT ONLY ____

Technical Abstract: Recent statements concerning linoleic (LA) and Alpha-linolenic acid (LNA) intakes for infants include a desirable range of LA/LNA ratios. To evaluate several dietary LA/LNA ratios, the fatty acid patterns of plasma and erythrocyte phospholipid fractions as well as plasma total lipid fractions were determined shortly after birth and at 21, 60 and 120 days of fage in term infants fed formula with 16% of fat as LA and either 0.4%, 0.95%, 1.7% or 3.2% as LNA (LA/LNA ratios of approximately 44, 18, 10 and 5). The content of all n-3 fatty acids in both plasma fractions was higher at all times in infants who received the highest LNA intake; however, the docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) content was only half that shortly after birth or reported in breast-fed infants of comparable ages. The LA content of plasma lipids of all groups was higher in all groups at all times than shortly after birth but did not differ among groups. The arachidonic acid (AA) content was higher in infants who received the lowest LNA intake but only half that at birth or reported in breast-fed infants. In contrast, the DHA content of the erythrocyte phospholipid fraction did not differ among groups until 120 days of age when it was higher in those who received the highest LNA intake and the AA content of this fraction did not differ among groups at any time. These data demonstrate that dietary LA/LNA ratios between 5 and 44 do not result in plasma or erythrocyte lipid levels of DHA or plasma lipid levels of AA similar to those at birth or reported by others in breast-fed infants. However, the data indicate that the LA/LNA ratio of the formula is an important determinant of the amounts of DHA and AA required to achieve plasma and erythrocyte levels of these fatty acids similar to those of breast-fed infants.