A comparison of the influence of breast-feeding and bottle-feeding on the fatty acid composition of the erythrocytes.

The proportion of long-chain polyunsaturated derivatives of linoleic and linolenic acids in the erythrocyte lipids of infants fed a cow's milk formula was lower than in breast-fed infants. Although th formula provided only 0.55% of the total energy as linoleic acid, essential fatty acid deficiency was not detected; the triene:tetraene ratio was 0.09.