Age-dependent fatty acid composition of erythrocyte membrane phospholipids in healthy children.

The fatty-acid composition of red-cell-membrane phospholipids (total phospholipids, phosphatidylcholine, and phosphatidylethanolamine fractions) was determined in 88 apparently healthy children aged 1 to 15 years, 10 cord blood samples, and 6 infants below 1 year of age. The major aim of the study was to determine the normal ranges of fatty-acid proportions, including trans- and odd-numbered fatty acids, for further studies of nutritional and metabolic disorders. The concentrations of most fatty acids of the phospholipids analyzed increased or decreased after birth and assumed adult levels before the second year of life, alpha-linolenic acid (C18:3n - 3) and trans fatty acids, however, continued to increase with age until late childhood.