Brain development and assessing the supply of polyunsaturated fatty acid

Abstract

Membrane lipids are necessary for structure and function of the developing nervous system. Rapid synthesis of brain tissue occurs during the last trimester of development of the human brain and the early postnatal weeks. This synthesis of brain structure involves the formation of complex lipids, many of which contain significant quantities of chain-elongated desaturated homologs of essential fatty acids. The present report discusses the implications of change in nutritional status on processes of brain development and metabolic events that involve lipids.

Effects of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid supplementation in pregnancy on maternal and fetal erythrocyte fatty acid composition

“…Maternal plasma DHA content commonly declines during pregnancy (Al et al, 1995a;Otto et al, 1997;Matorras et al, 2001), particularly in later pregnancy (Knopp, 1991) when foetal requirements for LCPUFA are highest (Clandinin, 1999;Al et al, 2000). In the current study, this pattern was not observed in the control group, possibly because the initial maternal stores were higher than reported in other populations (Matorras et al, 2001).…”

The influence of dietary docosahexaenoic acid and arachidonic acid on central nervous system polyunsaturated fatty acid composition

“…The aggressive increase in specific CNS long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCP) starting about 25 weeks of gestation lead to studies of the perinatal ontogeny of LCP in the CNS [1][2][3], and to studies of consequences of abnormal supply of LCP [4,5]. These in turn led to concerns for CNS development in the smallest preterm infants [6,7], who do not benefit from placental transfer of LCP, particularly docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and arachidonic acid (ARA), during the third trimester of gestation and until recently were fed on diets devoid of LCP.…”

Aceites De Origen Marino; Su Importancia en La Nutrición Y en La Ciencia De Alimentos

“…Durante el embarazo el feto requiere altas concentraciones de DHA el que es aportado por la madre quien lo obtiene desde su alimentación, desde sus reservas, o a través de la suplementación (26). La figura 8 muestra la transformación del ALN en EpA y posteriormente en DHA.…”

“…Estos productos, que tienen una serie de ventajas (mayor concentración y estabilidad, y ausencia de "olor a pescado"), se obtienen a partir de microalgas de cultivo, las que a través de procesos fotosintéticos son capaces de producir altas cantidades de ácidos grasos omega-3 de cadena larga. Si bien, el precio de estos productos es sustancialmente más alto que aquellos que provienen de aceites marinos, constituyen un serio competidor en el mercado de los ácidos grasos omega-3 debido a que su producción masiva en medios artificiales ha permitido una disminución paulatina de sus precios (26). Los nuevos desarrollos y la agresividad de marketing de las empresas biotecnológicas que realizan estos cultivos, constituye una seria amenaza para los aceites de origen marino como fuentes nutricionales de ácidos grasos omega-3.…”