Some chemical aspects of human brain development. II. phosphoglyceride fatty acids

Abstract

The fatty acids of total phosphoglycerides (TPG), ethanolamine phosphoglycerides (EPG), and choline phosphoglycerides (CPG) were obtained by mild alkaline transmethylation from lipid extracts of whole cerebrum and then analyzed by gas chromatography. A complete brain hemisphere from each of the 34 newborn infants reported previously was homogenized and its lipids extracted according to the procedure specified in that report. As the gestational age of the children went up, a statistically significant increase of the n-3/n-6 ratio and, especially, of the 22:4(n-6)/22:5(n-6) index was observed. Other ratios, such as the n-6/n-9 and the 18:0/18:1 (n-9), were also studied in the fatty acid patterns of EPG and CPG. Both of them showed significant increases with the gestational age of the infants. The [22:4(n-6) + 22:5(n-6)]/ 20:4(n-6) index, an indicator of the elongation process of arachidonic acid, on the other hand, did not show appreciable changes with maturation in TPG during this period of life. When ethanolamine and choline phosphoglycerides were analyzed separately, however, the elongation of arachidonic acid did rise with the gestational age in the former whereas it decreased in the latter. © 1974 International Pediatric Research Foundation, Inc.