The first infant formulas enriched with DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and ARA (arachidonic acid) will hit the US shelves this spring.
Formulas supplemented with these PUFAs have been available in more than 60 countries for several years, but this is the first time the FDA has approved their use for this purpose.
Barbara Levine, a nutritional researcher at Rockefeller University in New York commented, "There are many studies showing the superiority of breast milk over formula for infants. The goal has been to fortify formula, so that it is like breast milk."
Virtually all brain maturation occurs during the last 3 months of pregnancy. During this period, the foetus accumulates large amounts of DHA and ARA via the placenta. After birth, the infant continues to need large amounts of these PUFAs that must be provided by either mothers' milk or supplemented formula. Human breast-milk provides at least 60 mg DHA/day.
Information provided by lifescience company Pronova Biocare reveals that a recent study funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) demonstrated that adding DHA and ARA to infant formula significantly boosted the average intelligence scores in a group of 18-month-old children.
As assessed by visual function and learning-memory behavioural tasks, infants who do not receive adequate amounts of DHA from mothers' milk or from supplemented formula are found to have sub-optimal development of neural tissue. To ensure formula-fed infants have optimum visual development and mental scores later in life, the authors recommend that supplemental DHA should be provided from conception through the first 2 years of life.