DHA from mother boosts infant development, further findings
supplements of the omega 3 fatty acid DHA - naturally found in
breast milk - could contribute to the development of their baby's
brain and visual system. The findings compound growing market
opportunities for suppliers of DHA.
American women's breast milk levels of DHA are among the lowest in the world because of low DHA intake in the diet. But the study found that children whose mothers received a 200mg dose of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) for the first four months of breastfeeding performed better on a test of sustained attention than those whose mothers received a placebo, suggesting supplementation of DHA during breastfeeding elevates these levels.
DHA is an essential fatty acid naturally present in breast milk, and a key building block of the developing infant's brain and visual system. The human body cannot produce sufficient amounts of DHA for the needs of the eye and brain consequently it must be consumed through foods, such as cold water fatty fish, or in supplemental form.
Demand for omega-3 fatty acids has surged in recent months on the back of increasing scientific evidence of the health benefits. Dominating the market for omega 3 ingredients - both derived from microalgae - are US nutritional oil firm Martek and European company Nutrinova. For the study Martek provided the DHA.
Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas gave 174 mothers either dietary supplements of DHA or a placebo. Their breastfed children were assessed for several visual and mental functions at 4, 8, 12, 18, 30 and 60 months of age.
The researchers report that at 5 years old, the children whose mothers received DHA for the first four months of breastfeeding demonstrated an attention advantage, using the Sustained Attention Subtest of the Leiter International Performance Scale.
"These results are the most recent in a series of studies that demonstrate the importance of DHA in the development of infants and children," commented Henry Linsert, CEO of Martek.
Martek recently expanding production capacity for its DHA derived from microalgae, in response to a significant boost in demand over the last two years. It recently bought assets of contract fermentation business FermPro Manufacturing. The firm's blend of DHA and arachidonic acid is now used by four of the leading infant formula makers.
At the end of last year the US firm signed an agreement with a Canadian biotech firm to help it develop cheaper sources of plant-based docosahexaenoic acid. Martek will pay SemBioSys Genetics US$10 million in research and milestone payments as well as undisclosed royalties on new product sales for the use of its safflower biotechnology.
SemBioSys has developed a variety of proprietary genetic engineering technologies suited to the production of high-value lipids in oilseeds - for recombinant protein production and metabolic engineering of oilseeds including safflower.
