Submitted:
14 June 2021
Posted:
14 June 2021
You are already at the latest version
Abstract
During the last trimester of gestation and for the first 18 months after birth, both docosahexaenoic acid,22:6n-3 (DHA) and arachidonic acid,20:4n-6 (ARA) are preferentially deposited within the cerebral cortex at a rapid rate. Although, the structural and functional roles of DHA in brain development are well investigated, similar roles of ARA are not well documented. The mode of action of these two fatty acids and their derivatives at different structural-functional roles and their levels in the gene expression and signaling pathways of the brain have been continuously emanating. In addition to DHA, importance of ARA has been much discussed in recent years for fetal and postnatal brain development and the maternal supply of ARA and DHA. These fatty acids are also involved in various brain developmental processes; however, their mechanistic cross talks are not clearly known yet. This review describes the importance of ARA, in addition to DHA to support the optimal brain development and growth and functional roles in the brain.
Keywords:
Arachidonic acid
; 20:4n-6
; Brain
; Docosahexaenoic acid
; 22:6n-3
; Fetus
; Maternal diet
; Cognitive
; Infants
; Neurodevelopment
; Neurogenesis
Copyright: This open access article is published under a Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 license, which permit the free download, distribution, and reuse, provided that the author and preprint are cited in any reuse.
