What is LC-PUFA?

Research indicates the role played by LC-PUFA as an essential nutritional constituent which contributes to the development of the baby's brain, sharpness of vision and the nervous system.

 

LC-PUFA (Long Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids) are very long fatty acids with a number of unsaturated links. Vegetarian Materna Premium Stage 1 is enriched with LC-PUFA of the following types:

  • DHA (Docosahexaenoic Acid) from the Omega*3 group (C22:6).
  • Archidonic acid ARA from the Omega*6 group C20:4.
    (In addition to Linolenic Acids C18:2 and Alpha-linolenic C18:3 found in Materna)

* The symbol omega indicates the position of the double link in relation to the first carbon linked to three hydrogens)

Facts:

  1. DHA and ARA are natural constituents of breast milk.

  2. DHA and ARA are essential to the brain's structure and performance, the retina of the eye, the nervous system and the blood vessels.

  3. Babies in the first months of their lives are not able to produce a sufficient amount of DHA and ARA acids.

  4. The addition of LC-PUFA to the breast milk substitute increased the DHA and ARA status in the serum to that of babies who received breast milk.

  5. Babies who received breast milk had an advantage in mental development in comparison with babies who received standard breast milk substitutes.

  6. Controlled experiments conducted on premature babies and babies born at the end of the full term who received a breast milk substitute containing DHA and ARA supplements indicated enhanced mental development and sharpness of vision.

  7. A specialist committee of the WHO recommended introducing DHA and ARA-type LC-PUFA in breast milk substitutes.

  8. The EC breast milk substitute standard (Commission Directive 96/4/EC) includes DHA and ARA recommendations.