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Pathway of the biosynthesis of docosahexaenoic acid

Pathway of the biosynthesis of docosahexaenoic acid
The pathway of the biosynthesis of DHA and inhibitory effects that the preterm infant's diet (eg, mother's milk) and corticosteroid therapy could have on the ability to internally synthesize adequate DHA.

AA: arachidonic acid; ALA: alpha-linolenic acid; DGLA: dihomo-gamma-linolenic acid; DHA: docosahexaenoic acid; DPA: docosapentaenoic acid; EPA: eicosapentaenoic acid; ETA: eicosatetraenoic acid; GLA: gamma-linolenic acid; LA: linolenic acid; PGs: prostaglandins; SA: stearidonic acid.

* Antenatal corticosteroid therapy and insufficient postnatal protein both tend to downregulate delta-6-desaturase and reduce conversion of LA to ALA, based on limited data from animal experiments, as summarized in the Valentine 2012 reference below.

Reference:
  1. Metherel AH, Bazinet RP. Updates to the n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid biosynthesis pathway: DHA synthesis rates, tetracosahexaenoic acid and (minimal) retroconversion. Prog Lipid Res 2019; 76:101008.

Adapted with permission from: Valentine CJ. Maternal dietary DHA supplementation to improve inflammatory outcomes in the preterm infant. Advances in Nutrition: An International Review Journal (2012; 3:370-6). Copyright © 2012 American Society for Nutrition.

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