Breast milk is recognized around the world as the best choice for infant feeding and is the most recommended nutritional intake by pediatricians. Therefore, many institutions and the nutritional community have conducted extensive research on the natural, unique, and complex components of breast milk. ARA is an omega-6 long-chain unsaturated fatty acid, one of the most important fatty acids in breast milk.
In breast milk, ARA is present mainly in the form of triglycerides, but also in the form of milk fat globule membrane phospholipids. Although lipids make up only 2-5% of breast milk by weight, they are more important than any other macronutrient.
Lipid composition is influenced by many factors, including lactation stage, the timing of feeding, gestational age at birth, maternal dietary and nutritional status, and maternal health.
The variability of these factors makes it difficult to quantify the specific content of various lipids in breast milk, which has been demonstrated in a wide range of research reports. Salem and Van Dael noted that ARA levels ranged from 0.05% to 1.12% of total fatty acids, almost identical to DHA levels.
ARA is as important as DHA for nervous system development and function. During early development, ARA rapidly accumulates and reaches high concentrations similar to DHA. Numerous studies have reported more beneficial effects on brain development and function in infant formula supplemented with DHA and ARA compared to unfortified formula. While these benefits used to be more often due to DHA, the results are now more likely to be a combined synergistic effect of DHA and ARA, which are always found together in breast milk after all.
ARAs act as precursors to biologically active compounds, including eicosanoids and endocannabinoids.
Eicosanoids are highly active in various physiological systems and pathological processes, including inflammatory processes.
Endocannabinoid receptors are present as early as 14 weeks of gestation and appear to play multiple roles in human development.
Breastfed babies are closely related to their level of cognitive development, which is linked to a unique lipid profile—especially the presence of ARA and DHA. Supplementing infant formula with DHA and ARA may improve visual, cognitive, and psychomotor performance.
Recently, the European Academy of Pediatrics and the Children's Health Foundation published a document highlighting the importance of providing both DHA and ARA in infant formula. These international infant nutrition experts concluded that DHA levels should be at least 0.3% of fatty acids, equivalent to the global average in breast milk, but preferably 0.5%. The group even more strongly recommends that ARA be paired with DHA to supplement the baby.
As a multinational listed company with a century-old history and a supplier of high-end and high-quality raw materials, Royal DSM has been providing DHA and ARA raw materials to world-renowned high-end milk powder manufacturers, covering a total of more than 600 products and brands. The raw materials of ZUBR's patented DHA products for infants and children also come from the Royal DSM of the Netherlands. The formula of breast milk grade with a one-to-one ratio of DHA and ARA is adopted (the cost of raw materials of ARA is much higher than that of DHA) so that ZUBR®DHA will be welcomed by the majority of mothers as soon as it enters the market. It has also been recommended by many well-known star artists.