Long-Term Effect of Docosahexaenoic Acid Feeding on Lipid Composition and Brain Fatty Acid-Binding Protein Expression in Rats

Nutrients

Marwa E. Elsherbiny¹  Susan Goruk³  Elizabeth A. Monckton¹  Caroline Richard³  Miranda Brun¹  Marwan Emara²  Catherine J. Field³ 

[1]Department of Oncology, Cross Cancer Institute, University of Alberta, 11560 University Avenue, Edmonton, AB T6G 1Z2, Canada

[2]Centre for Aging and Associated Diseases, Zewail City for Science and Technology, Cairo 12588, Egypt

[3]Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E1, Canada

关键词: arachidonic acid;    brain development;    brain lipids;    diet and dietary lipids;    fatty acid/binding protein;   

DOI  :  10.3390/nu7105433

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Arachidonic (AA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) brain accretion is essential for brain development. The impact of DHA-rich maternal diets on offspring brain fatty acid composition has previously been studied up to the weanling stage; however, there has been no follow-up at later stages. Here, we examine the impact of DHA-rich maternal and weaning diets on brain fatty acid composition at weaning and three weeks post-weaning. We report that DHA supplementation during lactation maintains high DHA levels in the brains of pups even when they are fed a DHA-deficient diet for three weeks after weaning. We show that boosting dietary DHA levels for three weeks after weaning compensates for a maternal DHA-deficient diet during lactation. Finally, our data indicate that brain fatty acid binding protein (FABP7), a marker of neural stem cells, is down-regulated in the brains of six-week pups with a high DHA:AA ratio. We propose that elevated levels of DHA in developing brain accelerate brain maturation relative to DHA-deficient brains.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.