Effects of LC-PUFA supply via complementary food on infant development—a food based intervention (RCT) embedded in a total diet concept

Long-chain fatty acids are analyzed in tissues from infants whose cause of death was not neurologically related. Total n-3 and n-6 polyunsaturated and n-9 monounsaturated fatty acid amounts increased in the whole forebrain during the prenatal and postnatal periods up to at least 2 years of age. The most abundant brain polyunsaturated fatty acids were docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) (22:6n-3), arachidonic acid (AA) (20:4n-6), and adrenic acid (22:4n-6). In neonates receiving total parenteral nutrition for several days, the DHA/AA ratio was outside the normal range in the liver but within the normal range in the brain. Two other children received total parenteral nutrition for many months, but only the one born at 29 weeks of gestation had a low brain DHA/AA ratio. Another infant, born at 25 weeks of gestation, had been fed milk formulas containing high linoleate/alpha-linolenate ratios for 4 months. This infant had less DHA and a lower DHA/AA ratio in both the brain and the retina than had term infants. These data suggest that preterm infants are especially at risk for the effects of dietary fatty acid imbalances. Show more

The aim of this review is to evaluate the effects of omega-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 LCPUFA) supplementation in pregnant and lactating women and infants during postnatal life, on the visual acuity, psychomotor development, mental performance and growth of infants and children. Eighteen publications (11 sets of randomized control clinical trial [RCTs]) assessed the effects of the n-3 LCPUFA supplementation during pregnancy on neurodevelopment and growth, in the same subjects at different time points; 4 publications (2 data sets from RCTs) addressed physiological responses to n-3 LCPUFA supplementation during pregnancy & lactation and 5 publications (3 data sets from RCTs) exclusively during lactation. Some of these studies showed beneficial effects of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) supplementation during pregnancy and/or lactation especially on visual acuity outcomes and some on long-term neurodevelopment; a few, showed positive effects on growth. There were also 15 RCTs involving term infants who received infant formula supplemented with DHA, which met our selection criteria. Many of these studies claimed a beneficial effect of such supplementation on visual, neural, or developmental outcomes and no effects on growth. Although new well designed and conducted studies are being published, evidence from RCTs does not demonstrate still a clear and consistent benefit of n-3 LCPUFA supplementation during pregnancy and/or lactation on term infants growth, neurodevelopment and visual acuity. These results should be interpreted with caution due to methodological limitations of the included studies. Show more