Abstract
Preterm newborn infants have to adapt to a high-fat diet despite relatively low pancreatic lipase levels and low bile-salt concentrations. In such infants non-nutritive sucking appears to enhance weight gain. Lingual lipase (L.L.) is known to be active in the stomach of newborn infants. L.L. activity was studied by the hydrolysis of 3H triolein in vitro and the products of gastric lipolysis in vivo were determined by densitometry. In 10 infants who had not been milk-fed and 10 infants who had been milk-fed mean (± S.E.) L.L. activity in gastric contents rose from 1.59 (± 0.70) before feeding to 4.68 (± 0.86) in the milk-fed group (p < 0.02). In groups of 1 hourly fed (n = 5), 2 hourly (n = 4) and 3 hourly (n = 4) infants L.L. activity rose in the course of feeding and was associated with triglyceride hydrolysis to mainly diglyceride and free fatty acids. In 4 infants on 3 hourly feeds, alternately tube and bottle-fed on 2 successive days, the mean (± S.E.) maximal L.L. activity was 16.71 (± 3.71) when tube-fed and 24.41 (± 3.42) when bottle-fed. In preterm infants L.L. has an important role in fat digestion and sucking appears to enhance its secretion.
Article PDF
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Smith, L., Kaminsky, S. & D'Souza, S. Studies on Fat Digestion and Lipase Activity in the Gastric Contents of Preterm Infants. Pediatr Res 18, 799 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198408000-00050
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198408000-00050