Plasma Unesterified Fatty Acid Concentration in Fetal and Neonatal Life.

Abstract

The concentration of unesterified fatty acid (UFA) in the blood plasma of fetal sheep and newborn man was consistently found to be much lower than the concentration in plasma obtained simultaneously from their mothers. The levels were comparable to those found in man after administration of glucose or insulin. In both species the plasma level of UFA rose rapidly within 2 hr. of birth with an associated hypoglycemia. These findings support the occurrence of a rapid shift from carbohydrate to fat catabolism in the neonatal period.