Abstract
During early human development the requirement for essential fatty acids (EFA) is increased. In order to establish normative data, we studied the fatty acid composition of the major plasma lipid classes every week from the second to the fifth week of life in two groups of “healthy” appropriate for gestational age (AGA) premature infants fed either own mother's milk (OMM) n=12, Bwt=1420± 71, Gest.age 30.7±0.7) or medium chain triglyceride formula (MCTF) n=16, Bwt=1385±52; Gest.age 30.7±0.5). Macronutrient, energy and individual fatty acid balances were determined at the same time intervals.
Results: Significant differences in the fatty acid composition ot tne plasma phospholipids were found between the MCTF or OMM fed infants. Linoleic acid was significantly higher in the MCTF group (28.8±0.67 vs. 18.8±0.57%*), and the linolenic acid lower (0.19±0.03 vs. 0.32±0.03%*). Striking differences were found in the longer chain PUFA. (see Table: M±SE; %; *p<0.05).
Conclusions: 1) The competition of medium chain fatty acids for the same chain elongating enzyme system of the essential fatty acids and/or the trace amounts of PUFA in the OMM diet may have elicited these differences. 2) The long term sequelae of this distorted phospholipid fatty acid profile on the developing brain and retina has to be seriously considered.
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Carnielli, V., Dunn, M., Shennan, A. et al. ABNORMAL PATTERNS OF POLYUNSATURATED FATTY ACIDS (PUFA) IN PLASMA PHOSPHOLIPIDS (PL) IN PREMATURE INFANTS FED MEDIUM CHAIN TRIGLYCERIDE (MCT) DIET. Pediatr Res 21 (Suppl 4), 210 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198704010-00266
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198704010-00266