Fish oil boosts long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid content in breastmilk

Fish oil supplements may help improve the omega-3 (n-3) long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid (LCP) content of human milk, a recent Ethiopia study has found.

The researchers randomly assigned 154 mothers to receive either fish oil capsules (n=72) or a corn oil control (n=82). All participants had children 6–12 months of age. Supplements contained 215 mg of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and 285 mg of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA); controls contained no n-3 LCPs. The study outcome was the n-3 LCP content of human milk.

After 6 and 12 months of intervention, mothers receiving the fish oil supplement showed a 39.0-percent higher concentration of DHA in their breastmilk than the corn oil comparators, while EPA was higher by 36.2 percent. In both cases, the difference was statistically significant (p<0.001 for both). Baseline levels of human milk LCPs were comparable between groups.

In contrast, arachidonic acid (AA) levels in human breastmilk were significantly lowered by 17.5 percent (p=0.013) in the fish oil group.

Taking into consideration various estimates of global averages, the researchers saw that breastmilk DHA content was lower among participants at baseline, which remained true even after fish oil supplementation, despite the observed increases in n-3 LCP concentrations. On the other hand, AA levels were higher than global averages at baseline, but normalized after fish oil supplementation.

“[M]aternal milk DHA concentration remained lower than international norms after supplementation,” the researchers said. “It is recommended that future studies evaluate different doses of n-3 LCP covering a longer period of lactation as well as the impact of potential effect modifiers such as genetic polymorphism and diet.”