Two kinds of
oils (i)
Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) rich
Safflower oil, and (ii) Medium chain
triglyceride (MCT) rich
Coconut oil were added to the feeds of 46 very low
birthweight (VLBW) babies to see if such a supplementation is capable of enhancing their
weight gain. Twenty two well matched babies who received no fortification served as controls. The oil fortification raised the energy density of the feeds from approximately 67 kcal/dl to 79 kcal/dl. Feed volumes were restricted to a maximum of 200 ml/kg/day. The mean
weight gain was highest and significantly higher than the controls in the
Coconut oil group (19.47 +/- 8.67 g/day or 13.91 g/day). Increase in the triceps skinfold thickness and serum
triglycerides were also correspondingly higher in this group. The lead in the
weight gain in this group continued in the follow up period (corrected age 3 months). As against this, higher
weight gain in
Safflower oil group (13.26 +/- 6.58 g/day) as compared to the controls (11.59 +/- 5.33 g/day), failed to reach statistically significant proportions, probably because of increased statistically significant proportions, probably because of increased
steatorrhea (stool fat 4+ in 50% of the samples tested). The differences in the two oil groups are presumably because of better absorption of MCT rich
coconut oil. However, individual variations in
weight gain amongst the babies were wide so that some control babies had higher growth rates than oil fortified ones. The technique of oil fortification is fraught with dangers of intolerance, contamination and aspiration. Long term effects of such supplementation are largely unknown.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)