RESUMO
Erythrocyte fatty acid composition was studied in infants fed with three different formulae: formula I containing 20% butter fat; formula II containing 10% butter fat and 10% peanut oil; and formula III containing 10% butter fat and 5% peanut oil with a fat content itself reduced to 15%. The linoleic acid levels were 2.5, 18 and 13% in formula I-III, respectively. Analysis of fatty acids at the time of birth, and 3 and 6 months thereafter, indicated that linoleic acid levels could be improved by supplementation with peanut oil. Arachidonic acid levels (20:4, n-6) did not show a proportional relationship with respect to linoleic acid intake. The other ratio such as triene/tetraene, oleic/linoleic, linoleic/arachidonic and arachidonic/linoleic were all within the normal range, indicating normal desaturase and elongase activity. Thus, our present study suggests that peanut oils could be used for enhancing the linoleic acid levels in infants.