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: Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is an essential component for brain and visual acuity development during foetal and early postnatal life. A newly released directive under the European Commission stipulates DHA as a mandatory ingredient in infant formula. This poses challenges to manufacturers in preserving the stability and bioavailability of DHA at levels akin to human breast milk. The aims of this study were (a) to investigate the bioavailability of microencapsulated omega-3 DHA formulations in healthy toddlers compared with high DHA fish oil for a one-month period and (b) to assess the effect of DHA supplementation on children's sleep and cry patterns. Sixty toddlers were randomly allocated to four groups: 1. unfortified formula, 2. unfortified formula plus high DHA tuna oil, 3. fortified formula with dairy-based microencapsulated high DHA tuna oil powder, and 4. fortified formula with allergenic-free microencapsulated high DHA tuna oil powder. Bioavailability was assessed from both blood and faecal fatty acid levels. The results showed an enhanced bioavailability with significantly greater concentrations of blood DHA levels in formulas with microencapsulated powders. There were no significant effects of treatment on sleep and cry patterns. Application and delivery of microencapsulated DHA tuna oil powder in toddlers' formula provided better bioavailability of the active DHA., Competing Interests: The authors, SGF and GE are employees of Nu-Mega Ingredients Pty Ltd., a manufacturer and supplier of high DHA fish oil products. While Nu-Mega Ingredients Pty Ltd. provided support in the form of salaries for authors S.G.F and G.E, and funded the study, they did not have any role in the blood and faeces fatty acid analyses.

Purpose: Despite the detailed knowledge of the absorption and incorporation of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) into plasma lipids and red blood cells (RBC) in humans, very little is known about docosapentaenoic acid (DPA, 22:5 n-3). The aim of this study was to investigate the uptake and incorporation of pure DPA and EPA into human plasma and RBC lipids., Methods: Ten female participants received 8 g of pure DPA or pure EPA in randomized crossover double-blinded manner over a 7-day period. The placebo treatment was olive oil. Blood samples were collected at days zero, four and seven, following which the plasma and RBC were separated and used for the analysis of fatty acids., Results: Supplementation with DPA significantly increased the proportions of DPA in the plasma phospholipids (PL) (by twofold) and triacylglycerol (TAG) fractions (by 2.3-fold, day 4). DPA supplementation also significantly increased the proportions of EPA in TAG (by 3.1-fold, day 4) and cholesterol ester (CE) fractions (by 2.0-fold, day 7) and of DHA in TAG fraction (by 3.1-fold, day 4). DPA proportions in RBC PL did not change following supplementation. Supplementation with EPA significantly increased the proportion of EPA in the plasma CE and PL fractions, (both by 2.7-fold, day 4 and day 7) and in the RBC PL (by 1.9-fold, day 4 and day 7). EPA supplementation did not alter the proportions of DPA or DHA in any lipid fraction. These results showed that within day 4 of supplementation, DPA and EPA demonstrated different and specific incorporation patterns., Conclusion: The results of this short-term study suggest that DPA may act as a reservoir of the major long-chain n-3 fatty acids (LC n-3 PUFA) in humans.

Background: Folic acid fortification of grains is mandated in many countries to prevent neural tube defects. Concerns regarding excessive intakes of folic acid have been raised. A synthetic analog of the circulating form of folate, l-5-methyltetrahydrofolate (l-5-MTHF), may be a potential alternative.Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the effects of folic acid or l-5-MTHF supplementation on blood folate concentrations, methyl nutrient metabolites, and DNA methylation in women living in Malaysia, where there is no mandatory fortification policy.Methods: In a 12-wk, randomized, placebo-controlled intervention trial, healthy Malaysian women (n = 142, aged 20-45 y) were randomly assigned to receive 1 of the following supplements daily: 1 mg (2.27 μmol) folic acid, 1.13 mg (2.27 μmol) l-5-MTHF, or a placebo. The primary outcomes were plasma and RBC folate and vitamin B-12 concentrations. Secondary outcomes included plasma total homocysteine, total cysteine, methionine, betaine, and choline concentrations and monocyte long interspersed nuclear element-1 (LINE-1) methylation.Results: The folic acid and l-5-MTHF groups had higher (P < 0.001) RBC folate (mean ± SD: 1498 ± 580 and 1951 ± 496 nmol/L, respectively) and plasma folate [median (25th, 75th percentiles): 40.1 nmol/L (24.9, 52.7 nmol/L) and 52.0 nmol/L (42.7, 73.1 nmol/L), respectively] concentrations compared with RBC folate (958 ± 345 nmol/L) and plasma folate [12.6 nmol/L (8.80, 17.0 nmol/L)] concentrations in the placebo group at 12 wk. The l-5-MTHF group had higher RBC folate (1951 ± 496 nmol/L; P = 0.003) and plasma folate [52.0 nmol/L (42.7, 73.1 nmol/L); P = 0.023] at 12 wk than did the folic acid group [RBC folate, 1498 ± 580 nmol/L; plasma folate, 40.1 nmol/L (24.9, 52.7 nmol/L)]. The folic acid and l-5-MTHF groups had 17% and 15%, respectively, lower (P < 0.001) plasma total homocysteine concentrations than did the placebo group at 12 wk; there were no differences between the folic acid and l-5-MTHF groups. No differences in plasma vitamin B-12, total cysteine, methionine, betaine, and choline and monocyte LINE-1 methylation were observed.Conclusion: These findings suggest differential effects of l-5-MTHF compared with folic acid supplementation on blood folate concentrations but no differences on plasma total homocysteine lowering in Malaysian women. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01584050. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review article stresses the effective role of dietary fish fillet docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) on overweight as a risk factor of cardiovascular disease (CVD) via platelet phospholipid modification. Several reports have demonstrated that saturated fat in overweight evokes systemic inflammation and more importantly predisposes it to cardiovascular disorder. Prospective studies have shown that saturated fat is directly proportional to the level of arachidonic acids (AA), precursor of thromboxane in the platelet phospholipid membrane as omega-6 fatty acid in overweight and obese people. Some literature has demonstrated that omega-3 fatty acid from fish fillet ameliorates inflammation, reduces proinflammatory cytokine, inhibits signaling pathway, and regulates the physical composition of inflammatory leukocytes and free radicals (ROS). Yellow stripe scad (YSS) is a local Malaysian fish that has been shown to contain a comparable level of EPA/DHA content as observed in salmon. This review article will focus on the dietary role of fish fillet that will balance the omega-6 fatty acid/omega-3 fatty acid ratio in platelet phospholipid from YSS to manage and prevent healthy overweight/obesity-related risk factor of CVD and to avoid the risk orthodox drug treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]