ABSTRACT
Docosahexanoic acid (C22:6, DHA) is a highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid that forms part of the central nervous and visual system structures. DHA is synthesized from its precursor, alfa-linolenic acid, that is also a omega-3 fatty acid and can be obtained from vegetable oils. Marine organisms, specially fish, are good nutritional sources of DHA and eicosapentanoic acid (EPA), another omega-3 fatty acid that has a role in vascular homeostasis. DHA increases membrane fluidity, improving neurogenesis, synaptogenesis and the activity of retinal photoreceptors. The fetus, specially during the last trimester of pregnancy, has high DHA requirements. It is provided by the mother, since fetal DHA synthesis is negligible in this stage of development. Breast feeding provides DHA to the child, but most replacement artificial formulas do not provide this fatty acid. At the present moment, many products for infant nutrition contain DHA.
Subject(s)
Embryonic and Fetal Development/physiology , Fatty Acids, Omega-3/metabolism , Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena/physiology , Brain/embryology , Brain/metabolism , Docosahexaenoic Acids/metabolism , Docosahexaenoic Acids/pharmacology , Embryonic and Fetal Development/drug effects , Endoplasmic Reticulum/metabolism , Eye/embryology , Eye/metabolism , Fatty Acids, Omega-3/pharmacology , Fatty Acids, Omega-6 , Fatty Acids, Unsaturated/metabolism , Female , Food, Fortified , Humans , Infant, Newborn , PregnancyABSTRACT
Embryogenic and non-embryogenic calli from leaf sections of Coffea arabica cv. Catimor, were analyzed under denaturing conditions in one- and two-dimensions by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The protein patterns revealed qualitative and quantitative differences in size and charge. In non-embryogenic calli, two dimensional analysis reveals seven distinctive polypeptides in the range of 15 to 70 kDa. Four of the polypeptides are acidic, three of 70 kDa and one of 15 kDa. Similarly, in embryogenic calli there are seven characteristic polypeptides with molecular weight from 23 to 35 kDa in a broad pI from acid to basic. Five of them are found in the neutral to acid pI, and are probably related to storage protein-like polypeptides detected in zygotic embryos and seeds of Coffea arabica cv. Catimor. Changes in the protein pattern appear to correlate with histological differences in embryogenic calli and with different stages of development of somatic embryos.
