Alemayehu Argaw1,2, Kimberley P Bouckaert3, Mekitie Wondafrash4,3, Patrick Kolsteren3, Carl Lachat3, Bruno De Meulenaer3, Giles Hanley-Cook3, Lieven Huybregts5. 1. Department of Population and Family Health, Institute of Health, Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia. yemariamwork2@gmail.com. 2. Department of Food Technology, Safety and Health, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium. yemariamwork2@gmail.com. 3. Department of Food Technology, Safety and Health, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium. 4. Department of Population and Family Health, Institute of Health, Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia. 5. Poverty, Health and Nutrition Division, International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington, DC, USA.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: For infants and young children in low-income settings, human milk (HM) is the main source of omega-3 (n-3) long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPs), including docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). However, the n-3 LCPs concentrations of HM show wide variability, largely depending on the maternal intake of marine foods. This may put children living far from coastal areas at risk of inadequate intake. We evaluated the efficacy of fish-oil (FO) supplementation of lactating mothers on HM n-3 LCPs concentrations in a rural setting from Ethiopia. METHODS: Mothers (n = 360) with children 6-12 months old were randomized to receive either intervention FO capsules (215 mg DHA + 285 mg EPA) or control corn-oil capsules (without n-3 LCPs). In a random subsample of 154 participants, we analyzed LCPs in HM and child capillary blood using gas chromatography. RESULTS: Compared to the control, FO supplementation increased HM concentrations of DHA by 39.0% (95% CI: 20.6, 57.5%; P < 0.001) and EPA by 36.2% (95% CI: 16.0, 56.4%; P < 0.001), whereas the arachidonic acid (AA)/(DHA + EPA) ratio decreased by 53.5% (95% CI: -70.2, -36.7%; P < 0.001). We also found statistically significant association between the changes in (DHA + EPA)/AA ratio in HM and child capillary blood (P < 0.001). However, HM DHA concentrations remained lower than international norms after FO supplementation. CONCLUSIONS: FO supplementation improves n-3 LCPs content of HM. Future studies should evaluate different doses of n-3 LCPs and consider potential effect modifiers such as genetic polymorphism and diet. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01817634.
BACKGROUND: For infants and young children in low-income settings, human milk (HM) is the main source of omega-3 (n-3) long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPs), including docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). However, the n-3 LCPs concentrations of HM show wide variability, largely depending on the maternal intake of marine foods. This may put children living far from coastal areas at risk of inadequate intake. We evaluated the efficacy of fish-oil (FO) supplementation of lactating mothers on HM n-3 LCPs concentrations in a rural setting from Ethiopia. METHODS: Mothers (n = 360) with children 6-12 months old were randomized to receive either intervention FO capsules (215 mg DHA + 285 mg EPA) or control corn-oil capsules (without n-3 LCPs). In a random subsample of 154 participants, we analyzed LCPs in HM and child capillary blood using gas chromatography. RESULTS: Compared to the control, FO supplementation increased HM concentrations of DHA by 39.0% (95% CI: 20.6, 57.5%; P < 0.001) and EPA by 36.2% (95% CI: 16.0, 56.4%; P < 0.001), whereas the arachidonic acid (AA)/(DHA + EPA) ratio decreased by 53.5% (95% CI: -70.2, -36.7%; P < 0.001). We also found statistically significant association between the changes in (DHA + EPA)/AA ratio in HM and child capillary blood (P < 0.001). However, HM DHA concentrations remained lower than international norms after FO supplementation. CONCLUSIONS: FO supplementation improves n-3 LCPs content of HM. Future studies should evaluate different doses of n-3 LCPs and consider potential effect modifiers such as genetic polymorphism and diet. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01817634.
Authors: Kim F Michaelsen; Kathryn G Dewey; Ana B Perez-Exposito; Mulia Nurhasan; Lotte Lauritzen; Nanna Roos Journal: Matern Child Nutr Date: 2011-04 Impact factor: 3.092