Dietary intake and plasma concentrations of PUFA and LC-PUFA in breastfed and formula fed infants under real-life conditions.

BACKGROUND: The breastfed infant is usually used as standard for formula feeding, also regarding long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA). Here, plasma fatty acid concentrations in formula fed infants and the effects of LC-PUFA supplementation were investigated under real-life conditions.
METHOD: Term healthy infants being fully milk fed until the age of 4 months were categorized as breast milk "BM" (n = 73) if consuming >95% of energy from breast milk or formula (F) if consuming >95% of energy from formula subdivided into formula without (F-) (n = 15) and with LC-PUFA supplementation (F+) (n = 15). Formula as marketed was chosen by the parents. Dietary fatty acids (FA) intake was calculated from continuous dietary records from 2 months of age onwards. Total plasma FA were analyzed at the age of 4 months with docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) as primary outcome.
RESULTS: Dietary ratios of the polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA; linoleic acid/alpha-linolenic acid) were smaller in both F groups than in the BM group. Plasma DHA as % of total FA was similar in BM and F(+) but higher in BM in absolute amounts (mg/L). Plasma DHA as % of total FA in F(-) was higher than what might be supposed on the basis of dietary intake.
CONCLUSION: Infants consuming present-day LC-PUFA-supplemented formula achieved plasma LC-PUFA concentrations similar to breastfed infants. In infants consuming non-LC-PUFA-supplemented formula, the favorable PUFA pattern of the formula may have supported n-3 LC-PUFA biosynthesis.