Lipid quality in infant formulas

S. Ptok, J. Kraft, G. Jahreis, Jena

Fatty acids have multifaceted functions especially in postnatal growth. Therefore, an adequate feeding by infant formulas is required. The present study evaluated the fatty acid composition and tocopherol content of 26 currently in Germany available infant formulas.

After lipid extraction and derivatization the resulting fatty acid methyl esters were analyzed using two different GC methods. Tocopherols were determined by HPLC after tocopherol esters had been converted to the corresponding soaps by using potassium hydroxide.

The conventional formulas consisted approximately 43 % SFA, 39 % MUFA, 15 % n-6 FA, 1.9 % n-3 FA, and 0.3 % TFA of total FAME. Thus, the FA composition of conventional infant formulas differed distinctly from that of organic formulas (36 % SFA, 42 % MUFA, 19 % n-6 FA, 0.9 % n-3 FA, 0.6 % TFA). Except for two products, organic formulas were not in accordance with the guidelines for the ratio of LA/ALA in infant formulas. Only two of 26 formulas investigated were supplemented with LC-PUFA.

However, up to date the necessity for the supplementation of infant formulas with LC-PUFA is uncertain because only marginal effects between infants fed supplemented and unsupplemented formulas, respectively, have been observed. Regarding the tocopherol content of infant formulas, two organic products did not comply with current recommendations.

Key words: Infant formulas / lipid quality

Sie finden den Artikel in deutscher Sprache in Ernährungs-Umschau 11/06 ab Seite 440.