ESSENTIAL FATTY-ACID STATUS IN NEONATES AFTER FISH-OIL SUPPLEMENTATION DURING LATE PREGNANCY

Healthy pregnant women (n 23) were supplemented with fish-oil capsules (2.7 g n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids/d) from the 30th week of gesta tion until delivery, Subjects in a control group were either supplemen ted with olive-oil capsules (4 g/d, n 6) or received no supplementatio n (n 10), Fatty acid compositions of the phospholipids isolated from u mbilical plasma and umbilical arterial and venous vessel walls were de termined, Fatty acid compositions of maternal venous plasma phospholip ids were determined as well, Maternal plasma phospholipids of the fish -oil-supplemented group contained more n-3 fatty acids and less n-6 fa tty acids, Moreover, the amounts of the essential fatty acid deficienc y markers Mead acid (20:3n-9) and Osbond acid (22:5n-6) were significa ntly lower, The extra amount of n-3 fatty acids consumed by the mother s resulted in higher contents of n-3 fatty acids, and of docosahexaeno ic acid (22:6n-3) in particular, in the phospholipids of umbilical pla sma and vessel walls, It is, indeed, possible to interfere with the do cosahexaenoic acid status at birth: children born to mothers supplemen ted with fish oil in the last trimester of pregnancy start with a bett er docosahexaenoic acid status at birth, which may be beneficial to ne onatal neurodevelopment.