Increased docosahexaenoic acid levels in human newborn infants by administration of sardines and fish oil during pregnancy

Abstract

In rhesus monkeys, maternal n-3 fatty acid deficiency during pregnancy produces infant monkeys deficient in n-3 fatty acids at birth. These results stimulated current experiments to find out if n-3 fatty acids from fish in the diets of pregnant women would influence the concentration of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6 n-3) in the newborn human infant. Fifteen healthy pregnant women were enrolled to receive a 9-wk dietary supplementation of n-3 fatty acids from the 26th to the 35th wk of pregnancy. Sixteen pregnant women were not supplemented and served as controls. n-3 Fatty acid supplementation consisted of sardines and additional fish oil, which provided a total of 2.6 g of n-3 fatty acids per day (d) for the 9-wk period of supplementation. This included 1.01 g DHA. The end point of this study was the blood concentrations of DHA in the newborn infant. DHA in maternal red blood cells increased from 4.6% of total fatty acids to 7.15% at the end of the supplement period and at the time of delivery decreased (as expected) to 5.97% of total fatty acids. Maternal plasma showed a similar change from 2.12 to 3.51% of total fatty acids and then decreased to 2.35%. Levels of DHA in plasma and red blood cells of unsupplemented mothers did not change during the same time period. Levels of DHA in blood of newborn infants differed greatly in infants born from n-3-supplemented mothers compared with control infants. In red blood cells, DHA was 7.92% of total fatty acids compared with 5.86% (control infants). Plasma values showed a similar difference: 5.05% vs. 3.47% (controls). In n-3-supplemented infants, DHA concentrations were 35.2% higher than in control infants in red blood cells and 45.5% higher in plasma. These data indicate the importance of maternal dietary n-3 fatty acids and, in particular, maternal dietary DHA in promoting higher concentrations of DHA in the blood of the newborn infant.

Maternal erythrocyte omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, and plasma lipid concentrations, are associated with habitual dietary fish consumption in early pregnancy

“…On balance, results from our observational study and those of others (10,(24)(25)(26)(27), are consistent with intervention studies (28)(29)(30) that have documented increased omega-3 fatty acids in maternal plasma and/or erythrocyte after omega-3 fatty acid supplementation during pregnancy. We could find no published reports of maternal habitual fish consumption and plasma lipid and lipoprotein concentrations in early pregnancy.…”

The impact of long-chainn-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on human health

“…The converse is that enhancing DHA status during pregnancy could potentially benefit the fetus by providing an abundant source for brain development. Connor et al (1996) reported that pregnant women who regularly consumed sardines or fish oil increased their plasma DHA levels and transferred additional DHA and other n-3 fatty acids to their fetuses. In a randomised, double-blind intervention trial, Montgomery et al (2003) supplemented pregnant women with either DHA (200 mg/d) or oleic acid.…”

Effect of placental function on fatty acid requirements during pregnancy

“…The relative importance of diet and adipose stores to overall trans-placental LCPUFA flux may be inferred from feeding studies, which show that supplementation at the level of 100 mg/day of DHA or 336 mg/day of fish oils (Velzing-Aarts et al, 2001) has no measurable effect on cord blood n-3 concentrations. There are reports of measurable effects on cord blood of supplementation with marine oils but at much higher levels: 2600 mg/day (Connor et al, 1996) and 2700 mg/day of n-3 fatty acids and it appears that intakes of 500-1000 mg/day (3-5 times the normal dietary intake) are necessary before an increase in the n-3 content of the cord can be achieved with late pregnancy supplementation (Velzing-Aarts et al, 2001). Contrast this with the observation that fairly modest differences between individuals in the n-3 content of their normal diet can have significant effects on the cord blood composition (Otto et al, 1997).…”