There is no evidence that PUFA supplementation in infancy has an effect on infant or childhood allergy , asthma , dermatitis/eczema or food allergy .
However , the quality of evidence was very low .
There was insufficient evidence to determine an effect on allergic rhinitis
BACKGROUND Early dietary intakes may influence the development of allergic disease .
It is important to determine if dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids ( PUFAs ) given as supplements or added to infant formula prevent the development of allergy .
OBJECTIVES To determine the effect of higher PUFA intake during infancy to prevent allergic disease .
Erythrocyte fatty acids of term infants fed either breast milk, standard formula, or formula supplemented with long-chain polyunsaturates
The purpose of our study was to assess whether a supplement of fish oil ( FO ) and evening primrose oil ( EPO ) for formula-fed infants was capable of avoiding reductions in erythrocyte docosahexaenoic acid ( DHA , 22∶6n−3 ) and arachidonic acid ( AA , 20∶4n−6 ) associated with st and ard formula feeding . Healthy , term infants , whose mothers chose to formula feed , were r and omized to either a  placebo or supplemented formula for their first 30 wk of life . A reference group of beast-fed infants also was enrolled . Erythrocyte fatty acids were measured by capillary gas chromatography on day 5 and in weeks 6 , 16 , and 30 . Supplementation of formula with 0.36 % of total fatty acids as DHA result ed in erythrocyte DHA being maintained at or above breast-fed levels for the entire 30-wk study period , and breast feeding ( 0.21 % DHA ) result ed in a modest fall in erythrocyte DHA relative to baseline ( day 5 ) values . The level of erythrocyte DHA in placebo formula-fed infants was halved by week 16 . AA levels decreased in all infants in the first six weeks , but the levels in breast- and placebo formula-fed infants increased with age and returned to approximate baseline ( day 5 ) values by 16 and 30 wk of age , respectively . Erythrocyte AA in FO+EPO-supplemented infants remained low and below breast- and placebo formula-fed levels . Our data suggest that dietary supplementation with DHA at 0.36 % total fatty acids results in erythrocyte DHA levels above those found in breast-fed infants . EPO supplementation was not effective at maintaining erythrocyte AA when given with FO
There is no evidence that PUFA supplementation in infancy has an effect on infant or childhood allergy , asthma , dermatitis/eczema or food allergy .
However , the quality of evidence was very low .
There was insufficient evidence to determine an effect on allergic rhinitis
BACKGROUND Early dietary intakes may influence the development of allergic disease .
It is important to determine if dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids ( PUFAs ) given as supplements or added to infant formula prevent the development of allergy .
OBJECTIVES To determine the effect of higher PUFA intake during infancy to prevent allergic disease .