INTESTINAL-ABSORPTION OF LONG-CHAIN POLYUNSATURATED FATTY-ACIDS IN PRETERM INFANTS FED BREAST-MILK OR FORMULA

The importance of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPs) in the development of preterm infants is now well accepted but the source of dietary LCPs to be added to infant formulas remains controversial. We measured dietary intakes,fecal output, and percentages of intestinal absorption of n-6 and n-3 LCPs in healthy preterm infants fed exclusiv ely preterm breast milk (PBM; n = 20), formula without LCPs added (NLC Ps; n = 19), formula with LCPs derived from phospholipids (PL-LCPs; n = 19), or formula with LCPs from triacylglycerols (TG-LCPs; n = 19), I ntestinal absorption of arachidonic acid was not different in the four groups but docosahexaenoic acid was better absorbed from PL-LCPs than from PBM (88.3 +/- 1.8% compared with 78.4 +/- 4.0%, P < 0.05) Total absorption of n-6 LCPs was not different between groups but total n-3 LCPs were better absorbed from PL-LCPs than from PBM or TG-LCPs (88.7 +/- 1.9%, 79.2 +/- 4.4%, and 80.4 +/- 2.2%, respectively). In conclusi on, docosahexaenoic acid and arachidonic acid were absorbed as efficie ntly from TG-LCPs formula as from breast milk fat. Absorption of docos ahexaenoic acid and n-3 LCPs was greater from PL-LCPs formula than fro m PBM or TG-LCPs formula.