干旱区生态环境知识资源中心

The proportionate fatty acid composition of serum phospholipids of 13 pairs of Nigerian mothers and their term infants at birth was determined by gas-liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. The data from this study, which was conducted in the semi-arid northern region of Nigeria, were compared with similar data reported by Koletzko and Muller (Biol Neonate, 1990; 57:172-78) for mother-infant pairs in Germany. The phospholipids of the Nigerian mothers and neonates contained less linoleic acid (C18:2n-6) but the same percentage of alpha-linolenic acid (C18:3n-3) as those of the European mother-neonate pairs. Whereas the sera phospholipids of the Nigerian mothers contained relatively large proportions of arachidonic acid (C20:4n-6), the phospholipids of the Nigerian neonates contained only half as much arachidonic acid (p =0.001) as their European counterparts. In addition, the 18:3n-6/20:3n-6 ratio of the phospholipids of the Nigerian neonates was 10-times higher than that of the serum phospholipids of the German neonates. These data suggest that in the Nigerian neonates there are deficiencies in the desaturase-elongase pathway which metabolizes linoleic acid to arachidonic acid, specifically at the elongase step which converts linoleic acid into dihomo-gamma-linolenic acid (C20:3n-6).