Docosahexaenoic acid synthesis from alpha-linolenic acid is inhibited by diets high in polyunsaturated fatty acids

Gibson, Robert A.; Neumann, Mark A.; Lien, Eric L.; Boyd, Kenny; Tu, Wei-Chun

doi:10.1016/j.plefa.2012.04.003

Cited by 150 publications

(129 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…In particular, cognitive functions subserved by the hippocampus and frontal cortex, such as memory and executive functions, are sensitive to imbalances in the n-6:n-3 ratio because of the presence of high n-6 and n-3 FAs (7), as well as the role of n-6 and n-3 in neurotransmitter concentrations (8,9), receptor density and function (10,11), and neuronal growth (12,13) in those brain areas. The n-6 and n-3 FAs compete for metabolic resources; thus, an imbalance of n-6 and n-3 FAs in the diet decreases the products of one or another of the FA metabolic pathways (14)(15)(16)(17)(18). It has been found that providing a balanced n-6:n-3 ratio leads to similar concentrations of n-6 and n-3 FAs in the brain, whereas providing an imbalanced n-6:n-3 ratio produces deficiencies in n-3 FAs, regardless of the amount of specific FAs in the diet (19).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Executive functions and the ω-6-to-ω-3 fatty acid ratio: a cross-sectional study

Sheppard

Cheatham

2017

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

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Background: The v-6 (n-6) to v-3 (n-3) fatty acid (FA) ratio (n-6:n-3 ratio) was previously shown to be a predictor of executive function performance in children aged 7-9 y. Objective: We aimed to replicate and extend previous findings by exploring the role of the n-6:n-3 ratio in executive function performance. We hypothesized that there would be an interaction between n-3 and the n-6:n-3 ratio, with children with low n-3 performing best with a low ratio, and those with high n-3 performing best with a high ratio. Design: Children were recruited on the basis of their consumption of n-6 and n-3 FAs. The executive function performance of 78 children aged 7-12 y was tested with the use of the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery and a planning task. Participants provided blood for plasma FA quantification, and the caregiver completed demographic and activity questionnaires. We investigated the role of the n-6:n-3 ratio in the entire sample and separately in children aged 7-9 y (n = 41) and 10-12 y (n = 37).

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Executive functions and the ω-6-to-ω-3 fatty acid ratio: a cross-sectional study

Sheppard

Cheatham

2017

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

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“…If not, they are more or less unsaturated. The polyunsaturated fatty acids contribute importantly to average diets, but the balance of two kinds of polyunsaturated fatty acids in modern diets is quite different from that in diets during human evolution [3,16]. Whereas the latter contained about one omega-3 fatty acid for every four omega-6 fatty acids, modern diets can contain as much as fifty to a hundred times more omega-6 than omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids.…”

Section: Fatty Acidsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This included a discussion of the role of healthy and unhealthy fats, with attention to the relative content of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids in food by Dr. Artemis P. Simopoulos (USA) [13][14][15][16][17]. In addition, Dr. Richard J. Johnson (USA) reviewed the evidence that the worldwide increase in added sugars containing fructose may underlie the epidemics of obesity and diabetes [7,[18][19][20].…”

Section: Role Of Specific Food Groupsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bellagio Report on Healthy Agriculture, Healthy Nutrition, Healthy People

Simopoulos¹,

Bourne

Færgeman

2013

J Nutrigenet Nutrigenomics

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“…This resulted in a range of dietary LA from 0.1-18% energy and ALA from 0.1-12% energy (Gibson et al, 2013). The results (Fig.…”

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confidence: 90%

Long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid (LCPUFA) requirement for brain development: A personal view

Gibson

2015

OCL

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-Dietary docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is known to accumulate in the infant brain and clinical trials have established that dietary DHA is associated with improvements in visual and neural function in preterm infants. Thus, an elevated DHA status is considered to be important throughout infancy for brain development. While DHA can be added directly to infant foods, there have been important studies to show that infants can partially meet their own DHA requirements by consuming adequate levels of omega 3 alpha linolenic acid (ALA). A key requirement to allow for the conversion of ALA to DHA and to maximise its incorporation into tissues is a diet that is also low in omega 6 linoleic acid (LA). Such diets are hard to find commercially because dietary guidelines dictate that ∼3% energy of infant diets should be in the form of LA. These estimates were based on early animal experiments in which basal diets were devoid of both LA and ALA. However, recent animal experiments have indicated that the level of LA required to avoid essential fatty acid deficiency is much lower when ALA is also present in the diet. When a wide range diets are evaluated in animal systems, it is possible to see that the level of DHA found in the blood of animals fed diets containing only LA and ALA can reach levels similar to that of animals fed diets rich in fish oil, but only when the ALA:LA ratio is high and the total amount of dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) is low. Diets that are rich in either monounsaturates or saturates meet these requirements. Importantly, there are human infant studies that have tested such diets and demonstrated that human infants accumulate greater amounts of DHA than when diets are high in LA. It might be time to reconsider the dietary requirement of the two essential fatty acids LA and ALA in human infants in terms of their ability to enhance endogenous synthesis of DHA rather than more adult biomarkers like cholesterol levels.Keywords: DHA / LCPUFA / infant / nutrition / dietary fats Résumé -Besoins en acides gras polyinsaturés à longue chaîne (AGPI-LC) pour le développement du cerveau : point de vue personnel. L'acide docosahexaénoïque (DHA) alimentaire est connu pour s'accumuler dans le cerveau des nourrissons. Des essais cliniques ont établi que le DHA alimentaire est associée à l'amélioration de la fonction visuelle et cérébrale chez les nourrissons prématurés. Ainsi, un statut élevé en DHA est considéré comme important durant la petite enfance pour le développement optimal du cerveau. Bien que le DHA puisse être ajouté directement aux aliments pour nourrissons, certaines études montrent que les nourrissons peuvent partiellement répondre à leurs propres besoins en DHA en consommant des niveaux adéquats d'un acide gras oméga 3, l'acide alpha-linolénique (ALA). Afin de permettre la conversion de l'ALA en DHA et de maximiser son incorporation dans les tissus, il est primordial que le régime contienne également une faible quantité d'un oméga 6, l'acide linoléique (LA). De tels régimes lactés s'a...

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Docosahexaenoic acid synthesis from alpha-linolenic acid is inhibited by diets high in polyunsaturated fatty acids

Cited by 150 publications

References 43 publications

Executive functions and the ω-6-to-ω-3 fatty acid ratio: a cross-sectional study

Executive functions and the ω-6-to-ω-3 fatty acid ratio: a cross-sectional study

Bellagio Report on Healthy Agriculture, Healthy Nutrition, Healthy People

Long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid (LCPUFA) requirement for brain development: A personal view

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