title: Breast milk from women living near Lake Malawi is high in docosahexaenoic acid and arachidonic acid.
abstract: Adequate long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid (LCPUFA) intake is critical during the fetal and infant periods. We quantified fatty acid content of breast milk (n=718) and plasma from six month old infants (n=412) in southern Malawi, and in usipa (n=3), a small dried fish from Lake Malawi. Compared to global norms, Malawian breast milk fatty acid content (% of total fatty acids) was well above average levels of arachidonic acid [ARA] (0.69% vs. 0.47%) and docosahexaenoic acid [DHA] (0.73% vs. 0.32%). Average Malawian infant plasma ARA (7.5%) and DHA (3.8%) levels were comparable to those reported in infants consuming breast milk with similar fatty acid content. The amounts (mg) of DHA, EPA and ARA provided by a 3 oz (85 g) portion of dried usipa (1439, 659 and 360, respectively) are considerably higher than those for dried salmon. Usipa may be an important source of LCPUFA for populations in this region.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Individual, Family and Community Education and Family and Community Medicine, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA.
authors.forename: E Yakes
authors.initials: EY
authors.lastname: Jimenez
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Health, College of Medicine, University of Malawi, Blantyre, Malawi; Department of International Health, University of Tampere School of Medicine, Tampere, Finland; Department of Paediatrics, Tampere University Hospital, Tampere, Finland.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mangani
authors.affiliation: Department of International Health, University of Tampere School of Medicine, Tampere, Finland; Department of Paediatrics, Tampere University Hospital, Tampere, Finland.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ashorn
authors.affiliation: Sanford School of Medicine, University of South Dakota and OmegaQuant Analytics, LLC, Sioux Falls, SD, USA(1).
authors.forename: W S
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Harris
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Health, College of Medicine, University of Malawi, Blantyre, Malawi.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Maleta
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition and Program in International and Community Nutrition, University of California, Davis, CA, USA. Electronic address: kgdewey@ucdavis.edu.
authors.forename: K G
authors.initials: KG
authors.lastname: Dewey
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D016718:Arachidonic Acid / Q000097:blood / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D003530:Cyprinidae / Q000378:metabolism*; D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids / Q000097:blood / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D060106:Lakes; D008295:Malawi; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008895:Milk, Human / Q000737:chemistry*; D012474:Salmon / Q000378:metabolism*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids; D016718:Arachidonic Acid
keywords: Breast milk; DHA; Fish; Infant; LCPUFA; Maternal