{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,17]],"date-time":"2026-10-17T23:30:00Z","timestamp":1792279800799,"version":"4.4.0"},"reference-count":0,"publisher":"Cambridge University Press (CUP)","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,12,16]],"date-time":"2024-12-16T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1734307200000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["cambridge.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Br J Nutr"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,28]]},"abstract":"Abstract<\/jats:title>\n \n The extent of\n de<\/jats:italic>\n -\n novo<\/jats:italic>\n biosynthesis of non-essential fatty acids (FA) and the endogenous biosynthesis of long chain PUFA in human fetuses remain largely unknown. We used natural variations in the\n 13<\/jats:sup>\n C:\n 12<\/jats:sup>\n C (\u03b4\n 13<\/jats:sup>\n C) of plasma phospholipids of the woman at delivery and of cord blood to infer fetal biosynthesis of FA. We studied thirty-nine mother\u2013fetus pairs with uncomplicated pregnancies and term delivery. Eighteen women were supplemented with DHA, from pregnancy week 20 until delivery, sourced from an algae (\n n<\/jats:italic>\n 13) or fish oil (\n n<\/jats:italic>\n 5), each with slightly different\n 13<\/jats:sup>\n C content. Twenty-one women did not receive DHA supplementation. We measured the \u03b4\n 13<\/jats:sup>\n C value of selected phospholipid FA (C16:0, C18:0, C18:1\n n<\/jats:italic>\n -9, C18:2\n n<\/jats:italic>\n -6, C20:4\n n<\/jats:italic>\n -6 and C22:6\n n<\/jats:italic>\n -3) in maternal and cord plasma samples at delivery using isotope ratio MS. We found significant linear correlations for \u03b4\n 13<\/jats:sup>\n C values of FA between mothers and their fetuses (C16:0,\n r<\/jats:italic>\n = 0\u00b78535; C18:0,\n r<\/jats:italic>\n = 0\u00b79099; C18:1\n n<\/jats:italic>\n -9,\n r<\/jats:italic>\n = 0\u00b78079; C18:2\n n<\/jats:italic>\n -6,\n r<\/jats:italic>\n = 0\u00b79466; C20:4\n n<\/jats:italic>\n -6,\n r<\/jats:italic>\n = 0\u00b79257 and C22:6\n n<\/jats:italic>\n -3,\n r<\/jats:italic>\n = 0\u00b79706). Women supplemented with algal DHA had significantly lower DHA \u03b4\n 13<\/jats:sup>\n C values in their plasma phospholipids than those supplemented with fish DHA or those who did not receive DHA supplementation (\n P<\/jats:italic>\n < 0\u00b7001). There was no significant difference in \u03b4\n 13<\/jats:sup>\n C values of FA between women at delivery and their fetuses. These findings strongly suggest that the human fetus is highly dependent on the placental transport of maternal plasma FA, particularly DHA. The limited fetal biosynthesis of major FA emphasises the crucial role of maternal nutrition and placental well-being in fetal development.\n <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1017\/s0007114524003222","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,12,16]],"date-time":"2024-12-16T06:36:39Z","timestamp":1734330999000},"page":"194-201","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1017\/policypage","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Fetal dependency on maternal fatty acids: a pilot study in human pregnancies using the natural abundance variation of\n 13<\/sup>\n C"],"prefix":"10.1017","volume":"133","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2745-7305","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Manuela","family":"Simonato","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Padova"},{"name":"Pediatric Research Institute \u2018Citta\u2019 della Speranza\u2019"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Giovanna","family":"Verlato","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Padova"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Silvia","family":"Visentin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Padova"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Erich","family":"Cosmi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Padova"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anna","family":"Sartori","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Padova"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Pieter","family":"Sauer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Groningen"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Alessio","family":"Correani","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Polytechnic University of Marche"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Paola","family":"Cogo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Udine"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7218-9418","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Virgilio","family":"Carnielli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Polytechnic University of Marche"},{"name":"G. Salesi University Hospital"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"56","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,12,16]]},"updated-by":[{"DOI":"10.1017\/s0007114525105576","type":"correction","label":"Correction","source":"publisher","updated":{"date-parts":[[2024,12,16]],"date-time":"2024-12-16T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1734307200000}}],"container-title":["British Journal of Nutrition"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.cambridge.org\/core\/services\/aop-cambridge-core\/content\/view\/S0007114524003222","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,7]],"date-time":"2025-11-07T09:18:23Z","timestamp":1762507103000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.cambridge.org\/core\/product\/identifier\/S0007114524003222\/type\/journal_article"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2024,12,16]]},"references-count":0,"journal-issue":{"issue":"2","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,28]]}},"alternative-id":["S0007114524003222"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1017\/s0007114524003222","relation":{},"ISSN":["0007-1145","1475-2662"],"issn-type":[{"value":"0007-1145","type":"print"},{"value":"1475-2662","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2024,12,16]]},"assertion":[{"value":"\u00a9 The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Nutrition Society","name":"copyright","label":"Copyright","group":{"name":"copyright_and_licensing","label":"Copyright and Licensing"}},{"value":"This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution and reproduction, provided the original article is properly cited.","name":"license","label":"License","group":{"name":"copyright_and_licensing","label":"Copyright and Licensing"}},{"value":"This content has been made available to all.","name":"free","label":"Free to read"}]}}