Modification of Docosahexaenoic Acid Composition of Milk from Nursing Women Who Received Alpha Linolenic Acid from Chia Oil during Gestation and Nursing

Abstract

α-Linolenic acid (ALA) is the precursor of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in humans, which is fundamental for brain and visual function. Western diet provides low ALA and DHA, which is reflected in low DHA in maternal milk. Chia oil extracted from chia (Salvia hispanica L.), a plant native to some Latin American countries, is high in ALA (up to 60%) and thereby is an alternative to provide ALA with the aim to reduce DHA deficits. We evaluated the modification of the fatty acid profile of milk obtained from Chilean mothers who received chia oil during gestation and nursing. Forty healthy pregnant women (22–35 years old) tabulated for food consumption, were randomly separated into two groups: a control group with normal feeding (n = 21) and a chia group (n = 19), which received 16 mL chia oil daily from the third trimester of pregnancy until the first six months of nursing. The fatty acid profile of erythrocyte phospholipids, measured at six months of pregnancy, at time of delivery and at six months of nursing, and the fatty acid profile of the milk collected during the first six months of nursing were assessed by gas-chromatography. The chia group, compared to the control group, showed (i) a significant increase in ALA ingestion and a significant reduction of linoleic acid (LA) ingestion, no showing modification of arachidonic acid (AA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and DHA; (ii) a significant increase of erythrocyte ALA and EPA and a reduction of LA. AA and DHA were not modified; (iii) a increased milk content of ALA during the six months of nursing, whereas LA showed a decrease. AA and EPA were not modified, however DHA increased only during the first three months of nursing. Consumption of chia oil during the last trimester of pregnancy and the first three months of nursing transiently increases the milk content of DHA.

Therapeutic Perspectives on Chia Seed and Its Oil: A Review

“…An insignificant decrease in DHA levels occurred over the 7-wk study. Subjects in this study were postmenopausal women between 17 and 29 kg/m 3 [48]. In overweight women, 25 g/d supplementation of milled and whole chia seed over 10 wk was found to improve levels of ALA and EPA (an omega-3 fatty acid) against the placebo group, which ingested poppy seed, but did not improve body composition, inflammation, blood pressure, augmentation index, and lipoprotein levels [49].…”

“…Cardiovascular Decreased blood glucose [35][36][37] Increased satiety [38] Increased plasma ALA [38,41,48,49] Increased n-3/n-6 omega fatty acid ratio [38,41,48,49] Increased plasma EPA [38] Increased plasma DPA [38] Increased plasma DHA [38] Decreased body weight in ABCA1 R230C variant (MetS patients) [39] Decreased adiponectin in ABCA1 R230C variant (MetS patients) [39] Decreased weight in overweight adults [42] Decreased waist circumference in overweight adults [42] Integumentary Inhibition of total melanin production [43] Subjective improvement of pruritic skin [45] Improvement of lichen simplex chronicus [45] Improvement of prurigo nodularis [45] Improvement of skin capacitance [45] Musculoskeletal Increased endurance in 10 K athletes [47] Postprandial glucose levels Additionally, the propensity toward overeating may be regulated with supplementation of chia. Lee et al [35] found in one experiment that S. hispanica reduced the amount of postprandial blood glucose incremental area under the curve and reduced appetite on a subjective self-analysis by the subject.…”

Effect of sowing date and water availability on growth of plants of chia (Salvia hispanica L) established in Chile

“…Studies in chia have been centered on the nutritional composition of its seed, due to their high content of omega 3 (α-linolenic acid) [ 1 ], content in oil [ 2 ] and polysaccharide production in the mucilage of the seed coat [ 3 ]. Recent research has been focused on the content of natural antioxidants [ 4 ] and phenolic compounds [ 5 ] in its seeds and leaves, indicating that chia consumption would be beneficial to human health [ 6 , 7 ].Chia does not tolerate frost in any development stage; the minimum and maximum growth temperatures are 11°C and 36°C respectively, with an optimal range between 16 and 26°C [ 8 ]. It has high heritability for some phenotypic characters [ 9 ] such as uniformity in its periods of flowering and maturity; [ 10 , 8 ] mentioned that chia is a short-day species, flowering when nights are longer; [ 11 ] indicated a threshold between 12 and 13 hours.…”

Effect of cerulenin on fatty acid composition and gene expression pattern of DHA-producing strain Colwellia psychrerythraea strain 34H

“…In addition, they are precursors for certain hormones and lipid-derived signaling molecules [ 2 ]. Such VLCPUFAs can be synthesized in human with a low overall conversion rate using α-linolenic acid (ALA, 18:3) as substrate [ 3 ], rather than de novo synthesis. Alternatively, food or food additives rich in VLCPUFAs are a good choice to obtain VLCPUFAs directly.…”