Fatty acids | Fish oil (n=27)* | Placebo (n=26)* |
---|---|---|
Values are median (range). | ||
*Blood samples were not obtained from four infants in the fish oil group and three infants in the placebo group at birth. | ||
AA, Arachidonic acid; DHA, docosahexaenoic acid; EPA, eicospentaenoic acid; % TFA, percentage of total fatty acids. | ||
RBCs (nmol/ml) | ||
Total n−6 | 1150 (613–2121) | 1397 (480–3086) |
AA | 349 (239–734) | 422 (154–690) |
Total n−3 | 255 (70–481) | 301 (104–542) |
DHA | 221 (70–465) | 273 (98–478) |
EPA | 2 (0–13) | 2 (0–41) |
RBCs (% TFA) | ||
Total n−6 | 20.8 (16.7–23.1) | 21.5 (14.0–23.8) |
AA | 12.4 (9.2–14.5) | 12.5 (8.2–14.3) |
Total n−3 | 4.6 (1.7–6.2) | 4.8 (1.8–7.1) |
DHA | 4.4 (1.7–5.8) | 4.2 (1.8–6.2) |
EPA | 0.0 (0.0–0.1) | 0.0 (0.0–0.3) |
Plasma (nmol/ml) | ||
Total n−6 | 519 (151–1654) | 581 (61–2601) |
AA | 147 (11–204) | 166 (18–260) |
Total n−3 | 467 (40–1384) | 431 (5–1346) |
DHA | 460 (40–1335) | 413 (5–1299) |
EPA | 8 (0–15) | 5 (0–15) |
Plasma (% TFA) | ||
Total n−6 | 25.8 (17.8–31.6) | 27.0 (20.0–31.9) |
AA | 10.6 (1.9–14.3) | 11.2 (4.1–14.8) |
Total n−3 | 3.3 (0.4–6.8) | 3.4 (1.1–6.2) |
DHA | 3.0 (0.4–6.0) | 3.0 (1.0–5.1) |
EPA | 0.3 (0.0–1.1) | 0.2 (0.0–0.8) |