Effects of delta5 polyunsaturated fatty acids of maritime pine (Pinus pinaster) seed oil on the fatty acid profile of the developing brain of rats.
Conifer (pine) seeds are a potential source of dietary oils, but their safety and nutritional properties are not well established. Conifer seed oils differ from common edible vegetable oils in having a series of unusual polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) with a polymethylene-interrupted (PMI) double bond system and a double bond at the delta5 position. A rat study was conducted to assess whether delta5 PMI-PUFA of conifer seeds could alter the levels of n-6 and n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA) in mothers' milk and the developing brain of fetuses and pups. Feeding maritime pine (Pinus pinaster) seed oil (MPO) diet with a delta5 PMI-PUFA content of 1.4 g/100 g throughout pregnancy and lactation resulted in a large incorporation of delta5 PMI-PUFA in mothers' milk (5.1 +/- 0.5% of total fatty acids). The fetus (17 d old) and pup (22 d) brains, however, accumulated very little (0.6 and 0.4% of total fatty acids, respectively) delta5 PMI-PUFA. Mother's milk and pup's brain of the MPO group contained normal levels of 20:4n-6, 22:4n-6, and 20:5n-3 compared to a reference group of rats fed a fat blend of sunflower, high-oleic sunflower, and canola oils. The level of 22:6n-3, however, was slightly but significantly (P < 0.05) higher in milk and pup brain of the MPO group. These results show that delta5 PMI-PUFA of MPO exert no negative effect on the levels of n-6 and n-3 LC-PUFA in rat brain during its early development.
Pasquier
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Nutrition Research Division, Health Products and Food Branch, Health Canada, Ottawa, Ontario.
Ratnayake
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WM
Wolff
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RL
D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D016718:Arachidonic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D001095:Arachidonic Acids / Q000494:pharmacology; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects; D001921:Brain / Q000196:embryology / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism*; D001940:Breast; D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids / Q000378:metabolism; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*; D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D007774:Lactation; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D008321:Mammary Glands, Animal / Q000187:drug effects; D008892:Milk / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D010743:Phospholipids / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D028223:Pinus; D010938:Plant Oils / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011270:Pregnancy, Animal / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012639:Seeds / Q000737:chemistry; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000378:metabolism
D001095:Arachidonic Acids; D005227:Fatty Acids; D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated; D010743:Phospholipids; D010938:Plant Oils; D014280:Triglycerides; C445137:delta5 polyunsaturated fatty acid; C077446:Pikasol; D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids; D016718:Arachidonic Acid; C045533:eicosa-5,11,14-trienoic acid