Table 3.

Summary of absorption coefficients for all fatty acids

		2 Weeks			6 Weeks
		Breast Milk	Formula		Breast Milk	Formula
Saturated
12:0	Lauric acid	99.5 (98.3–99.7)	98.9 (98.6–99.2)	0.37	99.5 (97.8–99.8)	97.4 (96.2–99.2)	0.11
14:0	Myristic acid	98.2 (95.3–98.9)	94.4 (93.7–95.7)	0.03	98.5 (94.7–98.9)	94.0 (90.2–96.9)	0.04
15:0	Pentadecanoic acid	96.4 (94.1–98.1)	92.8 (86.5–94.5)	0.03	98.3 (95.6–98.9)	91.9 (83.1–94.9)	0.01
16:0	Palmitic acid	96.2 (93.1–97.3)	87.9 (85.9–93.3)	0.006	97.5 (95.3–98.3)	93.5 (87.2–94.6)	0.005
18:0	Stearic acid	91.3 (88.2–93.6)	66.4 (50.9–84.5)	0.003	96.8 (89.3–97.3)	76.8 (71.1–90.3)	0.003
20:0	Arachidic acid	88.5 (84.5–90.4)	73.3 (65.6–81.3)	0.01	91.7 (85.8–95.6)	84.3 (74.7–87.0)	0.03
22:0	Behenic acid	85.4 (82.3–89.1)	61.8 (45.1–73.2)	0.01	93.1 (87.0–97.1)	75.6 (71.0–83.5)	0.005
n-6
18:2n-6	Linoleic acid	98.3 (94.9–99.3)	96.3 (94.3–97.6)	0.29	99.1 (97.6–99.5)	95.1 (93.8–99.0)	0.11
18:3n-6	Gamma-linolenic acid	99.0 (96.4–99.9)	97.8 (95.3–99.3)	0.42	99.9 (99.6–100)	94.4 (88.8–99.0)	0.09
20:2n-6	Eicosadienoic acid	93.5 (85.6–94.8)	80.5 (55.2–87.0)	0.03	97.4 (91.0–98.2)	81.3 (42.5–93.9)	0.003
20:3n-6	Dihomo-gamma-linolenic acid	95.4 (90.8–98.2)	90.9 (78.2–94.9)	0.29	98.1 (95.5–98.8)	81.4 (75.3–94.8)	0.007
20:4n-6	Arachidonic acid	96.2 (90.5–98.6)	91.0 (80.0–94.6)	0.13	85.8 (70.2–93.3)	87.9 (72.9–96.3)	0.65
22:4n-6	Adrenic acid	92.9 (87.5–95.8)	77.6 (69.9–98.0)	0.15	97.7 (92.7–98.7)	89.3 (40.7–100.0)	0.65
n-3
18:3n-3	α-Linolenic acid	98.8 (95.5–99.7)	97.7 (95.8–98.3)	0.29	99.5 (98.1–99.6)	95.3 (88.8–99.3)	0.08
22:6n-3	Docosahexaenoic acid	95.8 (92.8–97.9)	84.2 (66.9–92.4)	0.01	98.2 (89.1–98.6)	74.9 (35.6–85.8)	0.003
n-9
16:1n-9	Palmitoleic acid	97.9 (95.1–99.2)	93.2 (88.7–95.5)	0.02	99.3 (97.2–99.6)	91.2 (86.7–97.6)	0.02
18:1n-9	Oleic acid	96.7 (92.8–98.3)	95.9 (94.5–96.5)	0.53	98.5 (97.1–98.6)	96.8 (91.8–98.8)	0.26
20:1n-9	Eicosenoic	90.7 (80.4–92.3)	84.3 (80.8–89.8)	0.21	96.6 (86.3–97.4)	76.9 (73.2–93.8)	0.01
Total Saturated vs. Unsaturated
Saturated		95.0 (92.9–96.3)	84.2 (81.1–89.7)	0.005	97.1 (94.5–98.4)	91.3 (82.8–91.8)	0.005
Unsaturated		96.1 (90.9–97.5)	89.9 (75.9–92.4)	0.06	97.3 (91.4–98.3)	87.3 (73.7–91.9)	0.06
Carbon Length
12		99.5 (98.3–99.7)	98.9 (98.6–99.2)	0.37	99.5 (97.8–99.8)	97.4 (96.2–99.2)	0.11
14		98.2 (95.3–98.9)	94.4 (93.7–95.7)	0.03	98.5 (94.7–98.9)	94.0 (90.2–96.9)	0.04
15		96.4 (94.1–98.1)	92.8 (86.5–94.5)	0.03	98.3 (95.6–98.9)	91.9 (83.1–94.9)	0.01
16		97.1 (94.0–98.2)	90.6 (84.1–94.2)	0.008	98.4 (96.2–98.9)	92.7 (86.8–95.6)	0.01
18		97.0 (93.0–98.0)	87.6 (86.1–95.8)	0.01	98.4 (96.1–99.0)	91.5 (83.0–93.9)	0.02
20		93.3 (85.4–94.6)	84.2 (74.8–88.5)	0.04	93.8 (86.0–96.5)	82.5 (58.6–92.8)	0.08
22		90.8 (86.1–94.3)	71.5 (58.7–85.5)	0.01	96.4 (90.1–98.1)	75.7 (61.1–82.7)	0.003
Number of Double Bonds
0		95.0 (92.9–96.3)	84.2 (81.1–89.7)	0.005	97.1 (94.5–98.4)	91.3 (82.8–91.8)	0.005
1		95.3 (89.3–96.4)	91.1 (86.1–93.9)	0.16	98.0 (93.9–98.7)	87.8 (84.0–96.7)	0.02
2		95.9 (89.6–97.0)	88.5 (74.8–92.0)	0.08	98.0 (94.3–98.9)	87.8 (65.8–96.4)	0.007
3		97.8 (94.0–99.2)	95.6 (89.8–97.4)	0.25	99.1 (97.6–99.5)	89.2 (85.7–97.7)	0.04
4		94.9 (88.8–97.1)	82.5 (75.1–90.0)	0.06	91.9 (81.1–96.0)	83.3 (68.5–94.2)	0.36
6		95.8 (92.8–97.9)	84.2 (66.9–92.4)	0.01	98.2 (89.1–98.6)	74.9 (35.6–85.8)	0.003