Infant nutrition for improving fatty acid composition of brain membranes

Abstract

The present invention relates to infant nutrition, in particular to infant nutrition comprising special lipid globules for improvement of the fatty acid composition in brain membranes.

1 . A method for altering brain membrane fatty acid composition selected from the group consisting of i) increasing brain membrane fluidity, ii) increasing brain membrane PUFA, iii) increasing brain membrane LC-PUFA, iv) decreasing brain membrane ratio of n6/n3 LC-PUFA, v) decreasing brain membrane ratio of n6/n3 PUFA, vi) increasing brain membrane n3 PUFA, vii) increasing brain membrane n3 LC-PUFA and viii) increasing brain membrane DHA, in a human subject, the method comprising administering to the human subject a nutritional composition comprising: 10 to 50 wt. % vegetable lipids based on dry weight of the composition, and lipid globules with a core comprising said vegetable lipids wherein said lipid globules have:
 (i) a volume-weighted mode diameter above 1.0 μm, and/or   (ii) a diameter of 2 to 12 μm in an amount of at least 45 volume % based on total lipid.   
     
     
         2 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the lipid globules have:
 (i) a volume-weighted mode diameter between 1.0 and 10 μm, and/or   (ii) a diameter of 2 to 12 μm in an amount of at least 55 volume % based on total lipid.   
     
     
         3 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the nutritional composition comprises:
 (a) 0.5 to 20 wt. % phospholipids based on total lipid and/or   (b) 0.6 to 25 wt. % of polar lipids based on total lipids, wherein polar lipids are the sum of phospholipids, glycosphingolipids and cholesterol, and comprising lipid globules with a core comprising said vegetable lipids and a coating comprising said phospholipids or polar lipids.   
     
     
         4 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the composition comprises n3 LC-PUFA in an amount of at least 0.2 wt. % of the total fatty acid content and that does not exceed 15 wt. % of the total fatty acid content. 
     
     
         5 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the composition comprises DHA in an amount of 0.1 to 0.6 wt. % based on total fatty acid content. 
     
     
         6 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the composition comprises n6 LC-PUFA in an amount of at least 0.02 wt. % of the total fatty acid content and that does not exceed 5 wt. % of the total fatty acid content. 
     
     
         7 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the composition comprises ARA in an amount of 0.1 to 0.6 wt. % based on total fatty acid content. 
     
     
         8 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the nutritional composition comprises linoleic acid (LA) and alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) in a weight ratio LA:ALA between 4 and 7. 
     
     
         9 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the phospholipids are derived from milk. 
     
     
         10 . The method according to  claim 1 , for altering brain membrane fatty acid composition selected from the group consisting of increasing brain membrane fluidity, increasing brain membrane PUFA, increasing brain membrane LC-PUFA, decreasing ratio of brain membrane n6/n3 LC-PUFA, decreasing ratio of brain membrane n6/n3 PUFA, increasing brain membrane n3 PUFA, increasing brain membrane n3 LC-PUFA, increasing brain membrane DHA, amelioration of cognitive performance, behavioral performance, visual acuity and fine motor skills when said human subject has reached an age above 36 months. 
     
     
         11 . A method for amelioration of cognitive performance in a human subject above 36 months of age, the method comprising administering to said human subject at an age between 0 and 36 months a nutritional composition comprising: 10 to 50 wt. % vegetable lipids based on dry weight of the composition, and lipid globules with a core comprising said vegetable lipids, wherein said lipid globules have:
 (i) a volume-weighted mode diameter above 1.0 μm, and/or   (ii) a diameter of 2 to 12 μm in an amount of at least 45 volume % based on total lipid.   
     
     
         12 . The method according to  claim 11 , wherein the nutritional composition comprises:
 (a) 0.5 to 20 wt. % phospholipids based on total lipid and/or   (b) 0.6 to 25 wt. % of polar lipids based on total lipids, wherein polar lipids are the sum of phospholipids, glycosphingolipids and cholesterol, and comprising lipid globules with a core comprising said vegetable lipids and a coating comprising said phospholipids or polar lipids.   
     
     
         13 . The method according to  claim 11 , wherein the composition comprises n3 LC-PUFA in an amount of at least 0.2 wt. % of the total fatty acid content and that does not exceed 15 wt. % of the total fatty acid content. 
     
     
         14 . The method according to  claim 11 , wherein the composition comprises DHA in an amount of 0.1 to 0.6 wt. % based on total fatty acid content. 
     
     
         15 . The method according to  claim 11 , wherein the composition comprises n6 LC-PUFA in an amount of at least 0.02 wt. % of the total fatty acid content and that does not exceed 5 wt. % of the total fatty acid content. 
     
     
         16 . The method according to  claim 11 , wherein the composition comprises ARA in an amount of 0.1 to 0.6 wt. % based on total fatty acid content. 
     
     
         17 . A method for the prevention and/or treatment of a disorder associated with decreased brain membrane fluidity and/or associated with decreased brain membrane PUFA content and/or LC-PUFA content and/or increased ratio of n6/n3 LC-PUFA, and/or increased ratio of n6/n3 PUFA, the method comprising administering to a human subject in need thereof a nutritional composition comprising: 10 to 50 wt. % vegetable lipids based on dry weight of the composition, and lipid globules with a core comprising said vegetable lipids wherein said lipid globules have:
 (i) a volume-weighted mode diameter above 1.0 μm, and/or   (ii) a diameter of 2 to 12 μm in an amount of at least 45 volume % based on total lipid.   
     
     
         18 . The method according to  claim 17 , wherein the disorder is a psychiatric, psychological and/or neurobiological disorder. 
     
     
         19 . The method according to  claim 17  for treatment and/or prevention of a disorder selected from the group consisting of attention deficiency, ADHD, autism, dyslexia, depression, bipolar depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, obsessive compulsive disorder, bulimia, abuse of alcohol or drugs, borderline personality disorder, panic disorder, social phobia, learning difficulties, mild cognitive impairment, learning memory impairment, language development impairment, dementia, Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease in the human subject. 
     
     
         20 . A nutritional composition comprising: 10 to 50 wt. % vegetable lipids based on dry weight of the composition, and lipid globules with a core comprising said vegetable lipids wherein said lipid globules have:
 (i) a volume-weighted mode diameter above 1.0 μm, and/or   (ii) a diameter of 2 to 12 μm in an amount of at least 45 volume % based on total lipid.