Docosahexaenoic acid function

Speaking of food that is good for the body, scientists have also found an acid (called docosahexaenoic acid, or DHA) present in fish that they believe plays a very important role in the way the brain functions. DHA is an omega-3 fatty acid. About 60% of the human brain is made up of fat, and most of that appears to be DHA fat. 

Rhodopsin in photoreceptors is immersed in a lipid environment highly enriched in phospholipids containing docosahexaenoic acid, which is essential for rhodopsin function 587... 

Dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), especially the n-3 series that are found in marine fish oils, modulate a variety of normal and disease processes, and consequently affect human health. PUFAs are classified based on the position of double bonds in their lipid structure and include the n-3 and n-6 series. Dietary n-3 PUFAs include a-linolenic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) whereas the most common n-6 PUFAs are linoleic acid, y-linolenic acid, and arachidonic acid (AA). AA is the primary precursor of eicosanoids, which includes the prostaglandins, leukotrienes, and thromboxanes. Collectively, these AA-derived mediators can exert profound effects on immune and inflammatory processes. Mammals can neither synthesize n-3 and n-6 PUFAs nor convert one variety to the other as they do not possess the appropriate enzymes. PUFAs are required for membrane formation and function... 

Deficiency can lead to lower levels of docosahexaenoic acid, leading to abnormal brain and eye function Optimizes nutrition, growth, and feeding efficiency of children suffering from cystic fibrosis Attenuates diabetic complications... 

Horrocks L. A. and Farooqui A. A. (2004). Docosahexaenoic acid in the diet its importance in maintenance and restoration of neural membrane function. Prostaglandins Leukot. Essent. Fatty... 

Marszalek J. R. and Lodish H. F. (2005). Docosahexaenoic acid, fatty acid-interacting proteins, and neuronal function breastmilk and fish are good for you. Annu. Rev. Cell Dev. Biol. 21 633-657. 

Arrington, J.L., McMurray, D.N., Switzer, K.C., Fan Y.Y., and Chapkin, R.S., Docosahexaenoic acid suppresses function of the CD28 costimulatory membrane receptor in primary murine and Jurkat T cells, J.Nutr., 131, 1147, 2001. 

Evaluation of the Physiological Function of Docosahexaenoic Acid in Diet-induced Lipodystrophy Model Mice... 

Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is a long-chain highly unsaturated fatty acid that is abundant in fish oil and is a precursor of several eicosanoids. DHA has a lipid-lowering effect through the suppression of lipogenic gene expression in the liver of rodents (Ikeda et al., 1998 Park and Harris, 2003 Buckley et al., 2004). In this paper, we introduce the evaluation of the physiological function of DHA in diet-induced lipodystrophy model mice. 

DHA, C22 6 i 3 cis-,cis-,cis-, cA-,cA-,cA-4,7,10,13,16,19-Docosahexaenoic acid). Essential fatty acids support the cardiovascular, reproductive, immune, and nervous systems, including the production of prostaglandins, which regulate body functions such as heart rate, blood pressure, blood clotting, fertility, and conception, and they are essential in the inflammatory response. 

Swann PG, Parent CA, Croset M, Fonlupt P, Lagarde M, Venton DL, and Le Breton GC. (1990) Enrichment of platelet phospholipids with eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid inhibits thromboxane A2/prostaglandin H2 receptor binding and function. J. Biot. Cheia 263,21692-21697. 

The essential fatty acids are also converted in the body to the 22-carbon fatty acids docosapentaenoic acid (DPA)and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). DPAis made from linoleic acid DHA is made from linolenic acid.The functions of these 22-carb-on fatty acids are not clear, but they may be important for vision and for other functions of the nervous system. DPA and DHA can be further elongated, in the body, to the "very-long-chain fatty acids." The very-long-chain fatty adds contain 24 to 34 carbons, and occur in the brain, rods of the retina, and in the testes (Sixh et al., 1996). Their functions are not clear. 

Khan et al. examined the effects of n-3 and n-6 fatty acid supplements (two of which contained OEP) on the microvascular blood flow and endothelial function in 173 healthy men and women aged 40 to 65 years in an 8-month, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study. For the single OEP supplementation, the group received a total daily OEP of 5 g (which contained 400 mg/day of y-linolenic acid). For the tuna oil/OEP supplementation, the group received a total daily tuna oil of 5 g (which contained 6% of eicosapentaenoic acid and 27% of docosahexaenoic acid per day) and OEP of 5 g. Results showed that there although there were significant improvements... 

Hirai, A., Terano, T., Makuta, H., Ozawa, A., Fujita, T., Tamura, Y. and Yoshida, S. (1989) Effect of oral administration of highly purified eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid on platelet function and serum lipids in hyperlipidemic patients. In Advances In Prostaglandin, Thromboxane, and Leukotriene Research, vol. 19, New York Raven Press, pp. 627-630. 

Kew, S., Mesa, M.D., Tricon, S., Buckley, R., Minihane, A.M., and Yaqoob, P. 2004. Effects of oils rich in eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids on immune cell composition and function in healthy humans. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 79, 674-681. 

D. R., Corey, E.J., Lewis, R.A., and Austen, K.F. 1985. Effect of dietary enrichment with eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids on in vitro neutrophil and monocyte leukotriene generation and neutrophil function. N. Engl. J. Med. 312, 1217-1224. 

DHA and Coenzyme Q10. Coenzyme Q10 (CoQlO) is an essential cofactor involved in the mitochondrial electron transport chain. Zinc toxicity also affects cellular energy production by decreasing oxygen consumption rate (OCR) and ATP turnover in human neuronal cells, which can be restored by the neuroprotective effect of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). DHA is specifically neuroprotective against zinc-triggered mitochondrial dysfunction, and CoQlO has shown to be protective against both Ap- and zinc-induced alterations in mitochondrial function [502],... 

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