title: Investigation of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid metabolism in lactating women by means of stable isotope techniques.
abstract: Long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids are important components of human milk that seem to influence infant development. After oral administration of U-13C-labeled linoleic acid to a lactating woman the recovery of tracer in milk linoleic acid was 6.4%, whereas tracer recovery in dihomo-gamma-linolenic acid (DGLA) was 0.3% and in arachidonic acid (AA), <0.01%. Some 14.9% of linoleic acid intake was converted to breath-CO2. In combination with data on dietary intake and quantitative milk output, we estimate that 23% of milk linoleic acid, 7% of milk dihomo-gamma-linolenic acids and 0.5% of milk arachidonic acid were contributed by direct endogenous conversion and transfer from dietary linoleic acid. These findings lead us to conclude that long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids for human milk synthesis are produced in the body, but either a relatively low percentage is contributed under these dietary conditions, or there are large body pools for intermediate storage of these fatty acids that are utilized for secretion into milk.
authors.affiliation: Dr. von Haunersches Children's Hospital, Ludwig Maximilians University Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Demmelmair
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Baumheuer
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Koletzko
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Dokoupil
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kratl
mesh_terms: D015126:8,11,14-Eicosatrienoic Acid / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D016718:Arachidonic Acid / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D001944:Breath Tests; D002247:Carbon Isotopes; D004032:Diet; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007774:Lactation; D019787:Linoleic Acid / Q000032:analysis / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D008895:Milk, Human / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D002247:Carbon Isotopes; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated; D016718:Arachidonic Acid; D019787:Linoleic Acid; D015126:8,11,14-Eicosatrienoic Acid