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Influence of formulas with borage oil or borage oil plus fish oil on the arachidonic acid status in premature infants
Author(s) -
Demmelmair Hans,
Feldl Franziska,
Horváth Imre,
Niederland Tamás,
Ruszinkó Viktória,
Raederstorff Daniel,
De Min Cristina,
Muggli Reto,
Koletzko Berthold
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
lipids
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.601
H-Index - 120
eISSN - 1558-9307
pISSN - 0024-4201
DOI - 10.1007/s11745-001-0757-x
Subject(s) - fish oil , eicosapentaenoic acid , arachidonic acid , docosahexaenoic acid , polyunsaturated fatty acid , infant formula , chemistry , food science , lipidology , docosapentaenoic acid , gamma linolenic acid , fatty acid , zoology , biochemistry , biology , fish <actinopterygii> , fishery , enzyme
Several studies have reported that feeding γ‐linolenic acid (GLA) has resulted in no increase in arachidonic acid (AA) in newborns. This result was ascribed to the eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA)‐rich fish oil used in these formulas. Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) sources with only minor amounts of EPA are now available, thus the addition of GLA to infant formulas might be considered an alternative to AA supplementation. Sixty‐six premature infants were randomized to feeding one of four formulas [ST: no GLA, no long‐chain polyunsaturated fatty acids; BO: 0.6% GLA (borage oil); BO + FOLOW: 0.6% GLA, 0.3% DHA, 0.06% EPA; BO + FOHIGH: 0.6% GLA, 0.3% DHA, 0.2% EPA] or human milk (HM, nonrandomized) for 4 wk. Anthropometric measures and blood samples were obtained at study entry and after 14 and 28 d. There were no significant differences between groups in anthropometric measures, tocopherol, and retinol status at any of the studied time points. The AA content of plasma phospholipids was similar between groups at study start and decreased significantly until day 28 in all formulafed groups, but not in the breast‐fed infants [ST: 6.6±0.2%, BO: 6.9±0.3%, BO + FOLOW: 6.9±0.4%, BO + FOHIGH: 6.7±0.2%, HM: 8.6±0.5%, where values are reported as mean ±standard error; all formulas significantly different ( P ≤0.05) from HM]. There was no significant influence of GLA or fish oil addition to the diet. GLA had only a very limited effect on AA status which was too small to obtain satisfactory concentrations (concentrations similar to breast‐fed babies) under the circumstances tested. The effect of GLA on AA is independent of the EPA and DHA content in the diet within the dose ranges studied.