Interaction of Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Murine Developmental Period

Abstract

There are few reports for the interaction between omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, but it has been known usefulness of brain function of omega-3 fatty acids. We investigated the interaction of theses essential fatty acids during the growth and developmental period of delta-6-desaturase knockout mice, using the artificial rearing method. As a result, it was found that the arachidonic acid (ARA) was the most critical polyunsaturated fatty acids for supporting body growth and the docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) exhibited clear essentiality for brain function. These indicate that the combination of DHA and ARA is essential for optimal growth and development in early life. Especially, the direct ingestion of ARA and DHA is indispensable in infants with immature lipid metabolic activity, although linoleic acid, α-linolenic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid are actually metabolized to ARA and DHA in adult.