COMPARATIVE STUDY ON AMOUNTS OF POLYUNSATURATED FATTY ACID IN HUMAN AND COW'S MILK

Abstract

1) The amounts of polyunsaturated fatty acids in the total unsaturated fatty acid were as follows: linoleic acid, 7.96% in human milk and 0.96% in cow's milk; linolenic acid, 1.41% in human milk and 0.19% in cow's milk; and arachidonic acid, 1.74% in human milk and 0.1% in cow's milk. The total polyunsaturated fatty acid was 11.11% in human milk and only 1.25% in cow's milk, that is, the amount in cow's milk was only about one-tenth of that in human milk.
2) It is generally recognized that human milk has the composition which is the most adequate for nutrition of human nurslings. Therefore, when cow's milk is used for the nourishment of human nurslings, its composition should be similar to that of human milk. This should be accomplished by supplementing cow's milk with an oil rich in the polyunsaturated fatty acid (e.g. linseed oil or cod liver oil), bringing the level of polyunsaturated fatty acid in cow's milk up to that in human milk.