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BIOCHEMICAL DEVELOPMENT OF RAT FOREBRAINS IN SEVERE PROTEIN AND ESSENTIAL FATTY ACID DEFICIENCIES
Author(s) -
Karlssonand I.,
Svennerholm L.
Publication year - 1978
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.1471-4159.1978.tb07837.x
Subject(s) - forebrain , biology , calorie , medicine , endocrinology , low protein diet , biochemistry , central nervous system
— The effect of a low‐protein diet (6 calorie‐% protein) and a low essential fatty acid diet EFA (0.1 calorie‐% EFA) on the biochemical composition of the forebrain was compared with that of a control diet (16 calorie‐% protein and 3.0 calorie‐%: EFA). The low‐protein diet was fed from 1 week before mating, while the other two diets were fed for more than two generations before mating. Four litters of each dietary group were assayed at 10, 15, 21, 30 and 120 days of age but only one sample from several litters of newborns. The forebrain growth was retarded between 10 and 15 days of age in the low‐protein group, but afterwards the growth was faster than in the control group. Also the low‐EFA group showed similar changes though less pronounced with retarded growth between 10 and 15 days of age. In the two deficiency groups the DNA content in the forebrain was reduced, but less than the weight. The gangliosides were used as a marker substance for neuronal membranes. In the low‐protein group the normally rapid accretion of gangliosides between 10 and 15 days of age was significantly retarded, but afterwards faster than in the control group. From 30 days of age the ganglioside concentration was significantly higher in the low‐protein group than in the control group. The low EFA diet resulted in similar but less pronounced changes than the low protein diet. The cerebroside content was lower in both the low‐protein and low EFA groups at all ages than in the control group indicating a lower myelin content. The cerebroside content differed more than any other parameter studied. The findings suggest that severe nutritional deficiencies only delay the development of the neuronal membranes but irreversibly reduce the formation of myelin.