|
|
||||||||
Journal of the American College of Nutrition, Vol 16, Issue 1 81-84, Copyright © 1997 by American College of Nutrition
JOURNAL ARTICLE |
M. N. Patel, A. M. Kleinfeld, G. V. Richeiri, S. Ruben, M. Hiatt and T. Hegyi
Department of Pediatrics, UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, St. Peter's Medical Center, New Brunswick 08903, USA.
BACKGROUND: Free fatty acids (FFA) play essential roles in maintaining physiologic homeostasis in the newborn infant. Most of the FFA in serum is carried in complex with albumin, but a small fraction remains unbound in the aqueous phase. OBJECTIVE: This study's goal is to report the values of serum levels of unbound free fatty acids (FFAu) in pregnant women and their newborn infants at term gestation. METHODS: The measurements were made possible by the availability of the fluorescent probe for unbound FFA, acrylodated intestinal fatty acid binding protein (ADIFAB). Twenty-two mother-infant pairs were enrolled in the study. Maternal levels were obtained immediately before delivery, cord levels at the time of delivery, and infant levels after 24 hours of age. RESULTS: The level of FFAu measured in maternal samples was 11.8 +/- 4 nM, in cord samples 9.2 +/- 4 nM, and in infants 13.9 +/- 3 nM. These population averages are considerably greater than those observed in healthy adults (7.5 +/- 2.5 nM). No correlation was found between cord levels and birthweight, gestational age, labor duration, mode of deliver, and infant or maternal temperature. CONCLUSIONS: This investigation is the first to measure FFAu in a group of mothers and their infants and provides the technique for future investigations of the biologic activity of free fatty acids.
This article has been cited by other articles:
![]() |
M. J. McArthur, B. P. Atshaves, A. Frolov, W. D. Foxworth, A. B. Kier, and F. Schroeder Cellular uptake and intracellular trafficking of long chain fatty acids J. Lipid Res., August 1, 1999; 40(8): 1371 - 1383. [Abstract] [Full Text] |
||||
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |