Docosahexaenoic acid is transferred through maternal diet to milk and to tissues of natural milk-fed piglets.

Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is incorporated in large amounts in structural lipids of the developing central nervous system. Milk DHA varies with maternal dietary DHA, but the effect of different intakes of DHA from milk on infant tissue fatty acids is unknown. The effect of milk high or low in DHA on the fatty acid composition of piglet brain, synaptic plasma membranes, retina, liver, plasma and RBC was studied. Pregnant sows were fed diets with 2.5 g/100 g vegetable oil until 4 d pre-partum and were then fed diets with 2.5 g/100 g soybean and canola oils or 4 g/100 g soybean oil plus 1 g/100 g fish oil to 15 d postpartum. Fish oil increased the milk DHA and eicosapentanoic acid from 0.1 to 1.5% and from 0.2 to 0.4% of fatty acids, respectively, but did not alter milk arachidonic acid. The level of DHA was significantly higher in plasma, liver and RBC phospholipids, brain and synaptic plasma membrane of 15-d-old piglets fed milk with high DHA compared with low DHA. Liver, plasma and RBC, but not brain or retina arachidonic acid, was significantly lower in piglets fed the high DHA milk compared with low DHA milk. Thus, differences in plasma, RBC and liver arachidonic acid and DHA of 15-d-old nursing piglets due to the maternal dietary fat were not accompanied by similar differences in central nervous system fatty acids. These studies show maternal DHA intake determines in part the infant plasma, RBC and liver phospholipid DHA.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)