Fatty acid pattern of the erythrocyte lipids and plasma vitamin E in the first days of life.

The plasma level of vitamin E is lower in newborns than in adults. The fatty acid composition of the erythrocyte lipids changes during the first weeks of life, the major changes being the increase of linoleic acid and the decrease of arachidonic acid. These changes cannot be ascribed to variation of erythrocytes age, but they seem to be related to variations in the fatty acid pattern of the major lipid fractions of plasma. The lowest ratio between vitamin E in plasma and the percentage of polyunsaturated fatty acids in erythrocyte membrane is reached in the first few days following the beginning of feeding. The results are discussed in relation to the development of hemolysis during the first days of life.