title: The fatty acid composition of human milk in northern Nigeria.
abstract: The authors previously reported that the milk of Yoruba women in southwestern Nigeria was deficient in alpha-linolenic acid and contained a high percentage (42%) of medium chain-length fatty acids (MCFA, C10-C14). In the present study, the authors used capillary gas-liquid chromatography to analyze the milk of Hausa women in the northern region of Nigeria. The milk of the Hausa women contained 27% MCFA, 10.6% linoleic acid, 0.41% alpha-linolenic acid, 0.52% arachidonic acid, and 0.32% docosahexaenoic acid. The proportion of alpha-linolenic acid in the serum phospholipids of a subset of exclusively breastfed infants (n = 15; mean age, 6.2 +/- 0.3 months) was below the limit of detection (< 0.03%). While the milk of women in northern Nigeria is adequate with regard to n-3 and n-6 fatty acids, to satisfy the requirements for alpha-linolenic acid, it may be necessary to supplement the infants of these women after the first 6 months of life.
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, Jos University Teaching Hospital.
authors.forename: S N
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Okolo
authors.forename: T J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: VanderJagt
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Vu
authors.forename: T A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: VanderJagt
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: VanderJagt
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Okonji
authors.forename: Y S
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: L T
authors.initials: LT
authors.lastname: Chuang
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Onwuanaku
authors.forename: R H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Glew
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001942:Breast Feeding; D002849:Chromatography, Gas; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000032:analysis* / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007227:Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008895:Milk, Human / Q000737:chemistry*; D009549:Nigeria; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D013997:Time Factors; D017962:alpha-Linolenic Acid / Q000032:analysis / Q000097:blood / Q000172:deficiency
chemical_list: D005227:Fatty Acids; D017962:alpha-Linolenic Acid