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Essential Fatty Acids and Human Nutrition

I. Serum Level for Unsaturated Fatty Acids in Healthy Children¹

Two Figures

Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston

The blood serum levels for dienoic, trienoic, tetraenoic and hexaenoic acids were determined on 93 well-nourished infants and children.

The serum levels for two, three and 4 double-bond fatty acids are in the same range for both well-nourished hospitalized children and healthy non-hospitalized children.

There appears to be a slightly lower level for dienoic and tetraenoic acids in the serum of infants than in children two to 15 years of age.

The trienoic acid content of the serum for healthy children is relatively low.

On a dietary intake comprising about 3% of the total calories as linoleic acid, the mean serum levels of two, three and 4 double-bond fatty acids for 60 healthy control children 4 to 15 years of age were, respectively, 30.3, 1.5 and 10.2% of the total fatty acids. On the basis of these blood levels, the data indicate that there is no dietary requirement for arachidonic acid for healthy children when linoleic acid is supplied.

The hexaenoic acid content of the serum of healthy children shows wide variations.

The significance of pentaenoic and hexaenoic acids in the serum of healthy children is not known.

Manuscript received 2 November 1953.