A combination of lipidomics, MS imaging, and PET scan imaging reveals differences in cerebral activity in rat pups according to the lipid quality of infant formulas.

We evaluated the effect of adding docosahexaenoic:arachidonic acids (3:2) (DHA+ARA) to 2 representative commercial infant formulas on brain activity and brain and eye lipids in an artificially reared rat pup model. The formula lipid background was either a pure plant oil blend, or dairy fat with a plant oil blend (1:1). Results at weaning were compared to breast milk-fed pups. Brain functional activity was determined by positron emission tomography scan imaging, the brain and eye fatty acid and lipid composition by targeted and untargeted lipidomics, and DHA brain regional location by mass-spectrometry imaging. The brain functional activity was normalized to controls with DHA+ARA added to the formulas. DHA in both brain and eyes was influenced by formula intake, but more than two-thirds of tissue DHA-glycerolipids remained insensitive to the dietary challenge. However, the DHA lipidome correlated better with brain function than sole DHA content ( r = 0.70 vs. r = 0.48; P < 0.05). Brain DHA regional distribution was more affected by the formula lipid background than the provision of PUFAs. Adding DHA+ARA to formulas alters the DHA content and lipidome of nervous tissue in the neonate, making it closer to dam milk-fed controls, and normalizes brain functional activity.-Aidoud, N., Delplanque, B., Baudry, C., Garcia, C., Moyon, A., Balasse, L., Guillet, B., Antona, C., Darmaun, D., Fraser, K., Ndiaye, S., Leruyet, P., Martin, J.-C. A combination of lipidomics, MS imaging, and PET scan imaging reveals differences in cerebral activity in rat pups according to the lipid quality of infant formulas.

Comparable reduction in cholesterol absorption after two different ways of phytosterol administration in humans.

PURPOSE: Consumption of phytosterols is a nutritional strategy to reduce cholesterol absorption, but the efficacy of various phytosterol intake modalities remains uncertain. The main objective was to investigate the effects of phytosterol esters (PE) provided either as a spread (dispersed in fat) during a mixed meal or as a minidrink (micro-dispersed in liquid form) after a meal. METHODS: In a randomized, single-blinded crossover design, 12 healthy intubated volunteers tested three different liquid meal sequences with and without PE. The liquid meal (500 mL, Fortisip) contained an oral dose (80 mg) of deuterium-enriched cholesterol (D7C). The intubation was stopped at 240 min, and the fate of sterols was determined in the different phases of duodenal content samples as function of time. A second solid fat-containing meal without sterols was consumed at 270 min. D7C was quantified in chylomicrons and plasma for 8 h. The conditions tested were as follows: (1) no PE added (control), (2) PE in a spread added into a liquid meal (PE-spread meal) and (3) PE given 30 min after a liquid meal as 100-g yoghurt drink (PE-minidrink meal). RESULTS: Addition of PE decreased the incorporation of cholesterol into the duodenum aqueous phase including micelles. PE added as a spread or as a minidrink significantly and comparably lowered meal cholesterol occurrence in chylomicrons (-40 % for PE-spread and -54 % for PE-minidrink, p < 0.0001) compared with the control meal. CONCLUSIONS: PE either dispersed in fat during a meal or micro-dispersed in a liquid form after a meal resulted in a markedly reduced occurrence of meal-derived cholesterol in the circulation at a comparable extent.

French mothers' milk deficient in DHA contains phospholipid species of potential interest for infant development.

OBJECTIVES: An insufficient human milk docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) level was reported worldwide, which leads to the question of the sufficiency of the DHA supply for infant development in the French Mediterranean area. Also, among milk lipids, phospholipids may be of high potential interest for infant brain development, being a specific vector of DHA and providing plasmalogens. We aimed to estimate the consumption of such milk compounds by preterm and term infants. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Milk samples from 22 lactating French women living in a port city, Marseille, were collected in a neonatology department from a single full-breast expression using an electric pump. Amounts of triglycerides, total phospholipids and plasmalogens, and fatty acid profile were determined by gas chromatography, and cholesterol by enzymatic assay. RESULTS: Depending on the infant dietary guidelines we referred to, 46% or 82% of milk samples were below the recommended DHA level (0.4% or 0.7%), and a majority exhibited high linoleic acid/α-linolenic acid and n-6/n-3 ratios, probably resulting from high linoleic acid together with low fish and seafood products consumption. DHA carried by phospholipids in a majority of specimens met the requirements for brain development for term but not for premature infants. Milk plasmalogen levels ranged from 3.4 to 39.2  mg/L. CONCLUSIONS: Our results support the recommendation of DHA supplementation to French mothers living in a Mediterranean port city, and of decreased linoleic acid intake, to reach optimal milk composition for infant health. DHA-containing phospholipids including plasmalogen species may represent important bioactive human milk compounds.

Phytosterol ester processing in the small intestine: impact on cholesterol availability for absorption and chylomicron cholesterol incorporation in healthy humans.

Phytosterols (plant sterols and stanols) can lower intestinal cholesterol absorption, but the complex dynamics of the lipid digestion process in the presence of phytosterol esters (PEs) are not fully understood. We performed a clinical experiment in intubated healthy subjects to study the time course of changes in the distribution of all lipid moieties present in duodenal phases during 4 h of digestion of meals with 3.2 g PE (PE meal) or without (control meal) PE. In vitro experiments under simulated gastrointestinal conditions were also performed. The addition of PE did not alter triglyceride (TG) hydrolysis in the duodenum or subsequent chylomicron TG occurrence in the circulation. In contrast, cholesterol accumulation in the duodenum aqueous phase was markedly reduced in the presence of PE (-32%, P < 0.10). In vitro experiments confirmed that PE reduces cholesterol transfer into the aqueous phase. The addition of PE resulted in a markedly reduced presence of meal-derived hepta-deuterated cholesterol in the circulation, i.e., in chylomicrons (-43%, PE meal vs. control; P < 0.0001) and plasma (-54%, PE meal vs. control; P < 0.0001). The present data show that addition of PE to a meal does not alter TG hydrolysis but displaces cholesterol from the intestinal aqueous phase and lowers chylomicron cholesterol occurrence in humans.