Dietary 18:3n-3 and 22:6n-3 as sources of 22:6n-3 accretion in neonatal baboon brain and associated organs.
The bioequivalence of dietary linolenic acid (LNA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) for brain DHA accretion was measured in neonatal baboons at 4-6 wk of age using stable isotope tracers. Neonates consumed a conventional U.S. term-infant formula devoid of long chain polyunsaturates and with an n-6/n-3 ratio of about 10:1. At 4 wk of age, neonates were dosed with either 13C LNA or 13C DHA. At 6 wk of age, neonate brain, retina, and other organs were harvested for fatty acid and isotopic analyses. The relative accretion of labeled DHA was 7-fold greater as a percentage of dose for the DHA-dosed animals compared to the LNA-dosed animals. The baboon is an omnivore that regularly consumes meat and insects; its plasma lipid profile responds similarly to humans in response to changes in feeding and living habits. These observations suggest that the baboon is a suitable model for human unsaturated fatty acid studies.
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Division of Nutritional Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA.
Bernardo
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Mirmiran
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Ma
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Nathanielsz
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Brenna
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D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism*; D002247:Carbon Isotopes; D004032:Diet; D004042:Dietary Fats, Unsaturated / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids / Q000378:metabolism*; D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3 / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D006801:Humans; D007313:Insecta; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism; D008460:Meat; D010215:Papio; D014018:Tissue Distribution; D017962:alpha-Linolenic Acid / Q000378:metabolism*
D002247:Carbon Isotopes; D004042:Dietary Fats, Unsaturated; D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3; D017962:alpha-Linolenic Acid; D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids