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Fatty acid composition in feeds and plasma of Canadian premature infants
Author(s) -
Friel James,
Mackay Dylan,
Hossain Zakir
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.30.1_supplement.672.3
Subject(s) - linoleic acid , arachidonic acid , oleic acid , palmitic acid , docosahexaenoic acid , chemistry , polyunsaturated fatty acid , breast milk , myristic acid , lauric acid , fatty acid , stearic acid , food science , medicine , biochemistry , enzyme , organic chemistry
The objective of this exploratory study was to investigate how the fatty acid (FA) composition of different food sources for preterm infants including: breast milk (BM), formula (F), human milk fortifiers (HMFs) and total parenteral nutrition (TPN) impacted preterm infant's plasma FA. The associations between FA content of plasma with antioxidant enzyme activity and cognition were also evaluated. Methods Thirty‐two premature infants were included in this study. Five different feeds (BM, F, BM + F, BM + HMF and TPN) were provided. Foods and preterm infant plasma samples were collected at the same time on the same day biweekly where possible. Separation and identification of the plasma and food FA methyl esters were performed by gas‐liquid chromatography. Antioxidant enzymes were measured. The Bayley Scale of Infant Development version III was used to evaluate cognition. Results In food sources, BM contained significantly lower oleic acid (C18:1n9) (p<0.01), linoleic acid (C18:2n6) (p<0.01), a‐linoleic acid (C18:3n3) (p<0.01), arachidonic acid (AA) (C20:4n6) (p<0.05) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) (C22:6n3) (p<0.05) compared with the F. Palmitic acid (C16:0) was significantly higher (p<0.05) in the BM + HMF compared with the BM. Stearic acid (C18:0) was significantly higher (p<0.05) in the BM + F and BM + HMF compared with the BM. In the plasma lauric acid (C12:0) (p<0.05) and myristic acid (C14:0) (p<0.001) were higher in the BM fed babies compared to the F and TPN fed groups. Antioxidant enzymes, activities and cognition scores did not differ by feeding groups, however the study may not have been powered to detect these differences. Conclusion The type, and therefore quality, of fatty acids that are fed to premature infants is an important consideration as differences in feed fatty acids were seen in some plasma fatty acids in the study. Support or Funding Information CIHR