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THE EFFECTS OF PYRIDOXINE DEFICIENCY AND OF CALORIC RESTRICTION ON LIPIDS IN THE DEVELOPING RAT BRAIN 1
Author(s) -
Williamson Barbara,
Coniglio J. G
Publication year - 1971
Publication title -
journal of neurochemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.75
H-Index - 229
eISSN - 1471-4159
pISSN - 0022-3042
DOI - 10.1111/j.1471-4159.1971.tb00565.x
Subject(s) - pyridoxine , medicine , endocrinology , sphingomyelin , pyridoxine deficiency , phospholipid , biology , cholesterol , biochemistry , membrane
— The effects of dietary deficiency of pyridoxine upon the contents of lipids in the brain were determined at several times after birth for three groups of rats. The mothers of the nursing pups were fed one of the following dietary regimes: pyridoxine‐deficient diet ad lib. , pyridoxine‐supplemented diet ad lib. , or pyridoxine‐supplemented diet in restricted amounts. At 7 and 14 days of postnatal age there were no significant differences between supplemented and deficient animals for any of the cerebral lipids studied. At 21 days the content of sphingomyelin in the brains of deficient animals was significantly lower than that in brains from the supplemented or calorically restricted animals in terms of percentage of total lipid and phospholipid phosphorus or tissue weight. On a per brain basis the content of sphingomyelin in the brains of calorically‐restricted rats was significantly lower than in the brains of rats fed the supplemented diet ad lib. The contents of cerebrosides but not of sulphatides or ceramides were also significantly lower in brains of the deficient group than in brains from the other two groups. The contents of pyridoxine in brains and in livers of the deficient animals were considerably lower than the contents found in the same organs of the other dietary groups. The results suggest that one reason for the abnormal development of the brains of rats on a pyridoxine‐deficient diet during the early postnatal period may be due to decreased quantities of sphingolipids.