Long chain polyunsaturate supplementation does not induce excess lipid peroxidation of piglet tissues.

BACKGROUND

Addition of highly polyunsaturated fatty acids to infant formulas raises the possibility of increased lipid peroxidation.

AIM OF THE STUDY

We determined the effects of increasing levels of dietary docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and arachidonic acid (AA) on lipid peroxidation and peroxidative potential in piglet tissues.

METHODS

Four groups of piglets (n = 6) were bottle-fed a formula containing one of four treatments: no long chain fatty acid (Diet 0) and three different levels of DHA/AA at 1-fold (0.3 %/0.6% FA; Diet 1) 2-fold (0.6 %/1.2% FA; Diet 2) and 5-fold (1.5%/3% FA; Diet 5) concentration used in some human infant formulas, and all with equal amount of vitamin E (5.7 IU/ 100 kcal formula) for four weeks.

RESULTS

There were no significant differences between the groups in conjugated diene and glutathione (GSH) levels in the liver, and thiobarbituric acid-reactive substance (TBARS) in plasma. TBARS levels of the erythrocyte membranes increased in a dose-dependent manner when in vitro oxidation was induced with 10 mM hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)) for 30 minutes. The TBARS levels of the liver homogenates of the Diet 5 and Diet 2 groups were significantly different than those of the membranes of the Diet 0 group when the in vitro oxidation was induced with H(2)O(2).

CONCLUSION

The results show that dietary vitamin E effectively prevented lipid peroxidation at the LCP concentrations investigated and suggest that levels presently in infant formulas are sufficient.