Comparison of essential fatty acids in preterm mother's milk and the baby's mother term in different stages of lactation

Some components of mother's milk is considered of utmost importance, for example, polyunsaturated fatty acids, long chain (AGPICL), these being: docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, C22: 6n -3), arachidonic acid (ARA, 20: 4N- 6) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, C20: 5n -3).This study aims to compare the amount of DHA, ARA and EPA in milk from mothers of preterm and at term births due to its great importance in the life of this newborn Forty-seven lactating women aged 14-43 participated in this study. Among these 23 were part of the preterm group (PG) and 24 were part of the at term group (GT). The extraction and the direct transesterification of DHA/ EPA/AA was carried out using the Lepage& Roy method and the quantifying LPUFA’s was by gas chromatography. There was a lower average ARA in transitional milk of mothers of preterm infants in comparison with those with at term infants (p<0,05). There was no statistical difference when comparing the amount of DHA, EPA and AA in the milk of GP e o GT in the milk of GP e o GT, only the GT transition milk had higher amounts of AA. The concentration of EPA in both groups and at all stages was greater, for approximately 5% of ALA is converted to EPA and only 0.5% is converted to DHA, which justifies the high concentration of EPA and the low concentration of DHA. By comparing the concentrations of AGPICL the 3 phases of milk in the group GP and GT, it is noted that although the values are above the amounts shown in other studies in Brazilian cities, still remains below the ideal values recommended by WHO therefore no need to increase the intake of foods rich in omega 3 and 6 and decrease the consumption of AGT, not only aiming to increase these rates in LH, but the evolution in eating habits and their positive impact on public health.