Effect of fish oil supplementation in pregnancy on the fatty acid composition of erythrocyte phospholipids and breast milk lipids.

To investigate the effect of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) supplementation on the fatty acid composition of erythrocyte phospholipids and breast milk lipids, pregnant Brazilian women in the 30th week of gestation were randomized to supplement their usual diet with 2 g/day of fish oil (FO group) or primrose oil (PO group, control) capsules for 15 days. Erythrocyte phospholipids from FO group had proportionally higher docosahexaenoicacid and eicosapentaenoic acid levels and furthermore, the ratio of n-6/n-3 PUFA was significantly lower in the breast milk lipids compared with the control group. Assessment of plasma anti-oxLDL autoantibodies and thiobarbituric acid-reactive substance concentration demonstrated that both groups had the same levels and they were unaltered by supplementations.

[Food composition tables: laboratory comparative analysis].

Objective: To evaluate the agreement between macronutrients and food energy values analyzed in laboratory and data of food composition tables and software available in Brazil.

Methods: Eleven types of food were analyzed totaling 701 samples. Student's t-test was performed consisting of the comparison between the mean values obtained in laboratory and the unique constant value of each table or software at 5% confidence level.