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© 2025 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.

Abstract

Background: Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is the most important fatty acid (FA) for the development and function of brain and retina. Mother’s milk is the predominant source of DHA for the baby’s postnatal life, and the omega 3 FA content of a mother’s diet is highly correlated with the cognitive and visual functions of the infant. However, clinical trials aimed at increasing the DHA content of mother’s milk and thereby improving infant cognitive function have been inconclusive. Methods: In this study, we tested the hypothesis that the molecular form of dietary DHA is important in enriching DHA in mother’s milk as well as in pup tissues. Lactating dams were fed defined diets containing DHA either in the form of triacylglycerol (TAG) or lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC), and the FA composition of mother’s milk and pup tissues was determined on postnatal day 16. Results: The results showed that LPC-DHA was 5-fold more efficient than TAG-DHA in enriching milk DHA. Moreover, DHA content was increased by 31% in the brain, 56% in the retina, and 14% in the liver of the pups by LPC-DHA in the maternal diet, whereas no increases were observed with TAG-DHA. The DHA content of the pup adipose tissue, however, was increased equally by the DHA supplements. Conclusions: These results show that dietary LPC-DHA is a promising new strategy to increase milk DHA content and to potentially improve brain and retinal health in infants. This strategy may be more important in the care of premature infants who miss the critical prenatal period of DHA accretion in the last trimester of pregnancy.

Details

Title
Efficient Enrichment of Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) in Mother’s Milk and in the Brain and Retina of the Offspring by Lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC)-DHA in the Maternal Diet
Author
Yalagala, Poorna C, R 1 ; Dhavamani, Sugasini 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Sutape, Chantapim 1 ; Caal Karyna 2 ; Sun Haijing 2 ; Nicastro Sofia 2 ; Sargis, Robert M 3 ; Gregg, Brigid 4   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Subbaiah, Papasani V 3   VIAFID ORCID Logo 

 Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612, USA; [email protected] (P.C.R.Y.); [email protected] (D.S.); [email protected] (R.M.S.) 
 Department of Pediatrics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; [email protected] (K.C.); [email protected] (H.S.); [email protected] (B.G.) 
 Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612, USA; [email protected] (P.C.R.Y.); [email protected] (D.S.); [email protected] (R.M.S.), Jesse Brown VA Medical Center, Chicago, IL 60612, USA 
 Department of Pediatrics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; [email protected] (K.C.); [email protected] (H.S.); [email protected] (B.G.), Department and Nutritional Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA 
First page
1864
Publication year
2025
Publication date
2025
Publisher
MDPI AG
e-ISSN
20726643
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
3217739353
Copyright
© 2025 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.