Vitamin E content and estimated need in German infant and follow-on formulas with and without long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA) enrichment.

Many formulas (FM) for infants are nowadays supplemented with LC-PUFA. Due to the susceptibility of LC-PUFA to peroxidation, a potential risk of oxidative stress must be considered. We analyzed the concentration of unsaturated fatty acids to calculate an estimated vitamin E need and the concentration of vitamin E as an important lipophilic antioxidant in LC-PUFA enriched (FM(+), n = 31) and not enriched (FM(-), n = 29) formulas as well as in breast milk (BM, n = 118). No differences were observed in the ratios of vitamin E content to estimated vitamin E need between FM(+) and FM(-). Ratios were consistently above the minimum value according to European law. FM showed similar or higher ratios than BM, except in a worst-case scenario where BM showed higher ratios than FM(+). Our results indicate adequate vitamin E content relative to unsaturated fatty acid content in present-day commercial formulas. Given that breast milk tends to contain higher ratios of vitamin E content to estimated vitamin E need than LC-PUFA enriched formulas (at least in a worst-case scenario), the potential effects of increasing vitamin E content in LC-PUFA enriched formulas should be explored.