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Dietary 18:3n‐3 and 22:6n‐3 as sources of 22:6n‐3 accretion in neonatal baboon brain and associated organs
Author(s) -
Su H. M.,
Bernardo L.,
Mirmiran M.,
Ma X. H.,
Nathanielsz P. W.,
Brenna J. T.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
lipids
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.601
H-Index - 120
eISSN - 1558-9307
pISSN - 0024-4201
DOI - 10.1007/bf02562339
Subject(s) - baboon , docosahexaenoic acid , lipidology , biology , clinical chemistry , fatty acid , omnivore , endocrinology , medicine , polyunsaturated fatty acid , linolenic acid , zoology , biochemistry , linoleic acid , ecology , predation
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 13 C LNA or 13 C 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.