E N Smit1, E A Oelen, E Seerat, E R Boersma, F A Muskiet. 1. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology/Pediatrics, Perinatal Nutrition and Development Unit, University Hospital Groningen, Dept CMC 5, kY3179, PO Box 30.001, 9700 RB Groningen, Netherlands.
Abstract
AIM: To investigate whether the low docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) status of malnourished, mostly breast fed, Pakistani children can be improved by fish oil (FO) supplementation. METHODS:Ten malnourished children (aged 8-30 months) received 500 mg FO daily for nine weeks. The supplement contained 62.8 mol% (314 mg) long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids of the omega3 series (LCPUFAomega3) and 22.5 mol% (112 mg) DHA. Seven FO unsupplemented children served as controls. Red blood cell (RBC) fatty acids were analysed at baseline and at the study end. RESULTS:FO supplementation augmented mean (SD) RBC DHA from 2.27 (0.81) to 3.35 (0.76) mol%, without significantly affecting the concentrations of LCPUFAomega6. Unsupplemented children showed no RBC fatty acid changes. One FO supplemented child with very low initial RBC arachidonic acid showed a remarkable increase from 4.04 to 13.84 mol%, whereas another with high RBC arachidonic acid showed a decrease from 15.64 to 10.46 mol%. CONCLUSION:FO supplementation improves the DHA status of malnourished children. The supplement is apparently well absorbed and not exclusively used as a source of energy.
RCT Entities:
AIM: To investigate whether the low docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) status of malnourished, mostly breast fed, Pakistani children can be improved by fish oil (FO) supplementation. METHODS: Ten malnourished children (aged 8-30 months) received 500 mg FO daily for nine weeks. The supplement contained 62.8 mol% (314 mg) long chainpolyunsaturated fatty acids of the omega3 series (LCPUFAomega3) and 22.5 mol% (112 mg) DHA. Seven FO unsupplemented children served as controls. Red blood cell (RBC) fatty acids were analysed at baseline and at the study end. RESULTS:FO supplementation augmented mean (SD) RBC DHA from 2.27 (0.81) to 3.35 (0.76) mol%, without significantly affecting the concentrations of LCPUFAomega6. Unsupplemented children showed no RBC fatty acid changes. One FO supplemented child with very low initial RBC arachidonic acid showed a remarkable increase from 4.04 to 13.84 mol%, whereas another with high RBC arachidonic acid showed a decrease from 15.64 to 10.46 mol%. CONCLUSION:FO supplementation improves the DHA status of malnourished children. The supplement is apparently well absorbed and not exclusively used as a source of energy.
Authors: Kelsey D J Jones; Rehema Ali; Maureen A Khasira; Dennis Odera; Annette L West; Grielof Koster; Peter Akomo; Alison W A Talbert; Victoria M Goss; Moses Ngari; Johnstone Thitiri; Said Ndoro; Miguel A Garcia Knight; Kenneth Omollo; Anne Ndungu; Musa M Mulongo; Paluku Bahwere; Greg Fegan; John O Warner; Anthony D Postle; Steve Collins; Philip C Calder; James A Berkley Journal: BMC Med Date: 2015-04-23 Impact factor: 8.775