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 .
Fish oil supplementation modulates immune function in healthy infants.
( n-3 ) PUFA influence immune function  in adults and may also affect immune maturation during development . This r and omized trial is , to our knowledge , the first to investigate whether fish oil supplementation in late infancy modifies immune responses . The study was a 2 x 2 intervention in 64 healthy Danish infants , who received cow 's milk or infant formula alone or with fish oil ( FO ) ( 3.4 + /- 1.1 mL/d ) from 9 to 12 mo of age . Before and after the intervention , fatty acid composition of erythrocyte membranes , plasma IgE , C-reactive protein , and soluble IL-2 receptor concentrations were measured . TNF-alpha , INF-gamma , and IL-10 concentrations in whole-blood cultures , stimulated for 22 h with LPS+phytohemaglutinin ( PHA ) or Lactobacillus paracasei , were also determined . IgA was measured in feces when infants were 10 mo of age . FO supplementation effectively raised erythrocyte ( n-3 ) PUFA ( P < 0.001 ) , increased L. paracasei-induced INF-gamma ( P = 0.05 ) and tended to reduce LPS+PHA-induced IL-10 ( P = 0.08 ) . The FO intervention did not affect any of the other analyzed immune variables . The erythrocyte content of eicosapentanoic acid was negatively associated with LPS+PHA-induced IL-10 ( r = -0.38 , P = 0.02 ) . Feeding milk rather than formula did not affect cytokine production , but plasma soluble IL-2 receptor concentration was greater in the formula group than in the cow 's milk group ( P = 0.03 ) . Since the capacity to produce INF-gamma has been proposed as a maturation marker for the immune system in early life , this study suggests a faster immune maturation with FO supplementation with no apparent reduction in immune activation . The implication s for later health need further investigation
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 .