IMPROVED INFANT NUTRITIONAL FORMULATIONS

IT HAS BEEN SHOWN THAT LONG CHAIN POLYUNSATURATED ESSENTIAL FATTY ACIDS SUCH AS GAMMA LINOLENIC ACID (GLA), EICOSAPENTAENOIC ACID (EPA), AND DOCOSAHEXAENOIC ACID (DHA) ARE PRESENT IN VERY HIGH CONCENTRATIONS IN HUMAN BREAST MILK. IN DEVELOPING NEW AND IMPROVED INFANT FORMULAS, THERENOW APPEARS TO BE A CRITICAL NEED FOR INCLUSION OF GLA, EPA,AND DHA AS NUTRIENTS FOR THE NEONATE. HOWEVER, TO DO SO ONEMUST BE ABLE TO MAKE A STABLE EMULSION IN THE WHICH THE BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY OF THE GLA, EPA, AND DHA ARE PRESERVED. THE GOAL OF THIS RESEARCH IS TO DEVELOP STABLE EMULSION USING A NEW SERIES OF SEMI-SYNTHETIC PHOSPHOLIPIDS DEVELOPED BY LIPID SPECIALTIES. DUE TO STRUCTURAL ALTERATIONS IN THE POLAR HEAD GROUP OF THESE PHOSPHOLIPIDS, LESS ENERGY IS REQUIRED TO FORM STABLE EMULSIONS WITH WATER INSOLUBLE MATERIALS SUCH AS EDIBLE OILS CONTAINING GLA, EPA,AND DHA. WE WILL TEST FOUR HOMOLOGS OF THESE NEW SURFACTANTS AS EMULSIFYING AGENTS FOR BLENDED EDIBLE OILS CONTAINING GLA, EPA, AND DHA. THE SIZE AND POLYDISPERSITY OF THE RESULTING EMULSIONS WILL BE MEASURED AS A FUNCTION OFTIME AND STORAGE CONDITIONS BY QUASI ELASTIC LASER LIGHT SCATTERING TO DETERMINE THE STABILITY OF THE EMULSIONS. THEPRESERVATION OF THE BIOLOGICAL POTENCY OF GLA, EPA, AND DHA WILL BE TESTED BY THE RATE OF PEROXIDE FORMATION IN THE EACHDIFFERENT EMULSION. IF STABLE EMULSIONS CAN BE PRODUCED, THEN PHASE II TRIALS WILL FOCUS ON TOXICOLOGY AND NUTRITION STUDIES OF SUCH GLA, EPA, AND DHA EMULSIONS IN ANIMALS.