Patterns of perinatal polyunsaturated fatty acid status and associated dietary or candidate-genetic factors.

Perinatal exposure to omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) can be characterized through biomarkers in maternal or cord blood, or breast milk. Objectives were to describe perinatal PUFA status combining multiple biofluids, and to investigate how it was influenced by dietary intake during pregnancy and maternal FADS and ELOVL gene polymorphisms. This study involved 1,901 mother-child pairs from the EDEN cohort, with PUFA levels measured in maternal and cord erythrocytes, and colostrum. Maternal dietary PUFA intake during the last trimester was derived from a food frequency questionnaire. Twelve single nucleotide polymorphisms in FADS and ELOVL genes were genotyped from maternal DNA. Principal component analysis incorporating PUFA levels from the three biofluids identified patterns of perinatal PUFA status. Spearman's correlations explored associations between patterns and PUFA dietary intake, and linear regression models examined pattern associations with FADS or ELOVL haplotypes. Five patterns were retained: "High omega-3 LC-PUFAs, low omega-6 LC-PUFAs"; "Omega-6 LC-PUFAs"; "Colostrum LC-PUFAs"; "Omega-6 precursor (LA) and DGLA"; "Omega-6 precursor and colostrum ALA". Maternal omega-3 LC-PUFA intakes were correlated with "High omega-3 LC-PUFAs, low omega-6 LC-PUFAs" (r(DHA) = 0.33) and "Omega-6 LC-PUFAs" (r(DHA) = -0.19) patterns. Strong associations were found between FADS haplotypes and PUFA patterns except for "High omega-3 LC-PUFAs, low omega-6 LC-PUFAs". Lack of genetic association with the "High omega-3 LC-PUFAs, low omega-6 LC-PUFAs" pattern, highly correlated with maternal omega-3 LC-PUFA intake, emphasizes the importance of adequate omega-3 LC-PUFA intake during pregnancy and lactation. This study offers a more comprehensive assessment of perinatal PUFA status and its determinants.

Effect of Massage with Oil Balanced in Essential Fatty Acids on Development and Lipid Parameters in Very Premature Neonates: A Randomized, Controlled Study.

Background: Oil massage versus only massage can increase preterm newborn development, especially weight gain, via a supposed percutaneous absorption of oil lipids, but data are contradictory. Aims: Investigating whether massage with a vegetable oil balanced in essential fatty acids improves neonatal weight gain, and digestive autonomy as proxy for neuro-development outcomes. Methods: A prospective monocentric randomized study was conducted in very premature newborns who received massage with oil (isio4 10 mL/kg/day, n = 18) versus with no oil (n = 18) for five consecutive days (10-min session twice daily) at a corrected gestational age of 34−35 weeks. Anthropometrics and clinical characteristics were recorded. Plasma triglyceride and total cholesterol concentrations were analyzed with an enzymatic kit. The fatty acid composition (weight%, mg/mL) of total plasma lipids and of red blood cell (RBC) membrane was analyzed by gas chromatography. Results: Weight gain velocity at the end of massage period was 12.3 ± 1.4 g/kg/day with oil vs. 9.8 ± 1.4 g/kg/day with no oil (p = 0.1). Digestive autonomy, plasma lipid parameters, polyunsaturated fatty acids in plasma total lipids or in RBC were comparable. The no oil group displayed a higher RBC level in nervonic acid at discharge (4.3 ± 0.2 vs. 3.4 ± 0.2%; p = 0.025) and in C18:1n-9 plasmalogen species at the end of the massage period and at discharge (0.73 ± 0.06 vs. 0.48 ± 0.06; 0.92 ± 0.06 vs. 0.69 ± 0.06%; p < 0.01), two molecules that are involved in neurodevelopment. Conclusions: The use of isio4 oil did not provide additional benefits for the development of very premature newborns, neither changed lipid metabolism nor polyunsaturated fatty acid biological status, which did not corroborate the existence of a percutaneous route for oil lipid absorption. The reason for different levels of nervonic acid and plasmalogen in RBC remains to be explored.

Associations of Maternal Consumption of Dairy Products during Pregnancy with Perinatal Fatty Acids Profile in the EDEN Cohort Study.

Maternal diet is the main source of fatty acids for developing offspring in-utero and in breastfed infants. Dairy products (DP) are important sources of fat in the European population diet. C15:0 and C17:0 fatty acids have been suggested as biomarkers of dairy fat consumption. This study's aim is to describe the associations between maternal DP (milk included) consumption during pregnancy and C15:0, C17:0 and polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) levels in perinatal biofluids. Study populations were composed of 1763, 1337 and 879 French mothers from the EDEN ("Étude des Déterminants pre- et post-natals de la santé de l'ENfant") study, with data on maternal and cord red blood cells' (RBC) membrane and colostrum, respectively. Associations were assessed using linear regression models adjusted for recruitment center, maternal age, healthy dietary pattern or fish consumption. Greater adherence to a "cheese" consumption pattern was associated with lower linoleic acid level in colostrum and higher C15:0 and C17:0 levels but in a less consistent manner for C17:0 across biofluids. Greater adherence to "semi-skimmed milk, yogurt" and "reduced-fat DP" patterns was related to higher docosahexaenoic acid and total n-3 PUFA levels and lower n-6/n-3 long-chain PUFA ratio in maternal and cord RBC. Our results suggest that C15:0 could be a good biomarker of maternal dairy fat consumption in perinatal biofluids.