Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
5888605 | Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes and Essential Fatty Acids (PLEFA) | 2011 | 8 Pages |
Erythrocyte (RBC) fatty acid compositions from populations with stable dietary habits but large variations in RBC-arachidonic (AA) and RBC-docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) provided us with insight into relationships between DHA and AA. It also enabled us to estimate the maternal RBC-DHA (mRBC-DHA) status that corresponded with no decrease in mRBC-DHA during pregnancy, or in infant (i) RBC-DHA or mRBC-DHA during the first 3 months postpartum (DHA-equilibrium) while exclusively breastfeeding. At delivery, iRBC-AA is uniformly high and independent of mRBC-AA. Infants born to mothers with low RBC-DHA exhibit higher, but infants born to mothers with high RBC-DHA exhibit lower RBC-DHA than their mothers. This switch from 'biomagnification' into 'bioattenuation' occurs at 6Â g% mRBC-DHA. At 6Â g%, mRBC-DHA is stable throughout pregnancy, corresponds with postpartum infant DHA-equilibrium of 6 and 0.4Â g% DHA in mature milk, but results in postpartum depletion of mRBC-DHA to 5Â g%. Postpartum maternal DHA-equilibrium is reached at 8Â g% mRBC-DHA, corresponding with 1Â g% DHA in mature milk and 7Â g% iRBC-DHA at delivery that increases to 8Â g% during lactation. This 8Â g% RBC-DHA concurs with the lowest risks of cardiovascular and psychiatric diseases in adults. RBC-data from 1866 infants, males and (non-)pregnant females indicated AA vs. DHA synergism at low RBC-DHA, but antagonism at high RBC-DHA. These data, together with high intakes of AA and DHA from our Paleolithic diet, suggest that bioattenuation of DHA during pregnancy and postnatal antagonism between AA and DHA are the physiological standard for humans across the life cycle.