Plasma fatty acid composition during the first week of life following feeding with human milk or formula.

Plasma fatty acids were studied in 20 full-term newborn infants fed human milk and in 17 newborn infants of identical characteristics fed an adapted cow's milk formula. Plasma fatty acids were measured in cord blood and at 7-9 days of age. No differences were present at birth but, after a period of feeding, infants receiving breast milk had higher plasma concentrations of stearic acid, di-homo-gamma-linolenic acid and arachidonic acid, while infants receiving formula had a higher plasma concentration of oleic acid. The importance of these findings in relation to the lipidic structure of the nervous system remains to be determined.