Dietary vitamin E and polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) in newborn babies with physiological jaundice.

We studied 69 term babies aged 2-8 days who had physiological jaundice and who were fed formula A (Ostermilk Complete; vitamin E, 0.46 mg per 100 ml; polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA), approximately 0.08 g per 100 ml), or formula B (Cow and Gate Premium; vitamin E, 1.0 mg per 100 ml; PUFA, approximately 0.55 g per 100 ml) or breast milk. Babies fed formula B, with the greatest vitamin E and PUFA content, had a significantly higher mean plasma vitamin E level compared with those fed formula A, even as early as the second and third day. Breast fed babies, 2-3 days old, had a lower mean plasma vitamin E level compared with formula B fed babies, thereafter vitamin E levels in breast fed babies rose. The RBCs of babies fed formula B and breast milk were significantly less susceptible to hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) haemolysis compared with the RBCs of those fed formula A. Reduced susceptibility to H2O2 haemolysis in formula B fed babies was observed in those as young as 2-3 days. Susceptibility to H2O2 haemolysis did not correlate with haemoglobin concentration, plasma bilirubin nor with the reticulocyte count in babies on different feeds. We conclude that in term newborn babies the vitamin E and PUFA contents of the milk feeds influence plasma vitamin E levels and susceptibility of RBCs to H2O2 haemolysis, but do not have an important bearing on the occurrence of physiological jaundice.