title: Maternal and fetal brain contents of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and arachidonic acid (AA) at various essential fatty acid (EFA), DHA and AA dietary intakes during pregnancy in mice.
abstract: We investigated essential fatty acids (EFA) and long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCP) in maternal and fetal brain as a function of EFA/LCP availability to the feto-maternal unit in mice. Diets varying in parent EFA, arachidonic acid (AA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) were administered from day 3 prior to conception till day 15 of pregnancy. We concentrated on DHA, AA, Mead acid, and EFA-index [(omega-3+omega-6)/(omega-7+omega-9)] in maternal erythrocytes, maternal brain, and fetal brain. It was found that erythrocyte EFA/LCP sensitively reflects declining EFA/LCP status in pregnancy, although this decline was not apparent in maternal brain. Differences in erythrocyte EFA/LCP coincided with larger differences in fetal brain EFA/LCP as compared to EFA/LCP in maternal brain. Both maternal and fetal brains were affected by short-term EFA/LCP intake, but the developing fetal brain proved most sensitive. The inverse relationship between fetal brain AA and DHA suggests the need of a maternal dietary DHA/AA balance, at least in mice.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands. s.a.van.goor@lc.umcg.nl
authors.forename: Saskia A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: van Goor
authors.forename: D A Janneke
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Dijck-Brouwer
authors.forename: M Rebecca
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Fokkema
authors.forename: Theo Hans
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: van der Iest
authors.forename: Frits A J
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Muskiet
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016718:Arachidonic Acid / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000032:analysis*; D001921:Brain / Q000196:embryology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D001923:Brain Chemistry; D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000032:analysis*; D005228:Fatty Acids, Essential / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D005260:Female; D005333:Fetus / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D011247:Pregnancy
chemical_list: D005228:Fatty Acids, Essential; D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids; D016718:Arachidonic Acid