Regular and high consumption of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) like DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) prevents the development of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) by acting on oxidative stress. DHA is found in high concentration in the retina. The biochemical properties of DHA influence the fluidity and function of the membrane-photoreceptor [1]. Nutrients from the (Age-related eye disease ...

Dietary fat intake and cancer risk have been investigated in detail in many populations, although the results have been inconsistent for colorectal cancer. Several molecular mechanisms have been proposed to explain how specific dietary fatty acids could alter colorectal cancer risk due to their involvement in varying physiologic functions (1). These include apoptosis, inflammation, cell prolife...

Evidence from observational studies suggests that there is an association among depression and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), and folate; however, this association has yet to be examined in childhood and adolescent depression. The objective was to determine whether the BDNF, PUFAs, and folate in serum differ between first-episode childhood and ado...

Maternal nutrition, especially LCPUFA, is an important factor in determining fetal growth and development. Our earlier cross sectional study reports lower docosahexanoic acid (DHA) levels at the time of delivery in mothers delivering low birth weight (LBW) babies. This study was undertaken to examine the role of the maternal omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acid profile across the gestation in fetal g...

Norepinephrine stimulates lipolysis and concurrently inhibits insulin-stimulated leptin secretion from white adipocytes. To assess whether there is a cause-effect relationship between these two metabolic events, the effects of fatty acids were investigated in isolated rat adipocytes incubated in buffer containing low (0.1%) and high (4%) albumin concentrations. Palmitic acid (1 mM) mimicked the...

Stimulation of lipolysis or adenylate cyclase activity by either isoprenaline or a tumor-derived lipid-mobilizing factor was effectively attenuated in isolated white adipocytes or in adipocyte plasma membranes pretreated with eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) dissolved in ethanol or from mice dosed p.o. with EPA (1.25 g/kg). A similar effect was observed with docosahexanoic acid (DHA) that may be par...

There are no reported pathways of docosahexanoic (DHA) biohydrogenation; however, DHA is metabolized by ruminal microorganisms. In this study a 0.5mg pulse dose of uniformly 13C labeled DHA in ethanol was injected at 0h as a metabolic tracer. This study did not examine every fatty acid metabolite, but rather identified several saturated and trans-18:1 fatty acid metabolites and set a foundation...

OBJECTIVE To review the role of essential fatty acids in brain membrane function and in the genesis of psychiatric disease. METHOD Medline databases were searched for published articles with links among the following key words: essential fatty acids, omega-3 fatty acids, docosahexanoic acid, eicosapentanoic acid, arachidonic acid, neurotransmission, phospholipase A2, depression, schizophrenia...

Fish oil affects oxidative stress parameters and changes in phospholipids fatty acids profiles in plasma, erythrocytes and tissues. We examined the effects of fish oil supplementation in young and old male Wistar rats (3 and 22 months old) on plasma phospholipids fatty acids profiles and blood oxidative stress parameters. Twenty young and twenty aged Wistar rats were randomly divided into four ...

PURPOSE To assess the effect of docosahexanoic acid (DHA) and lutein (both compounds with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties) on experimental diabetic retinopathy. METHODS Male Wistar rats were studied: non-diabetic controls, untreated diabetic controls, and diabetic rats were treated with DHA and lutein or the combination of DHA + insulin and lutein + insulin for 12 weeks. Oxidativ...