Dietary Phospholipid Carriers of DHA Do Not Increase Brain DHA Levels: A Replication Study
Publications
Congratulations to Brinley J. Klievik from the Bazinet Lab at the University of Toronto for his recent publication in the Journal of Lipid Research. The study, titled “Dietary phospholipid carriers of DHA do not increase brain DHA levels: A replication study”, investigates the impact of different dietary carriers of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) on brain DHA concentrations.
Study Overview
In this replication study, mice were administered daily doses of DHA in various forms: non-esterified DHA (NE-DHA), sn-1 lysophosphatidylcholine-DHA (sn-1 LPC-DHA), and di-DHA phosphatidylcholine (di-DHA-PC), over a 30-day period. The researchers measured DHA levels in several brain regions, including the cortex, cerebellum, hippocampus, amygdala, striatum, and the remainder of the brain. The results showed no significant differences in brain DHA levels among the treatment groups compared to the control group. However, plasma DHA levels were significantly elevated in all DHA-treated groups, confirming systemic absorption of the supplemented DHA.
Implications for DHA Supplementation
These findings suggest that dietary DHA provided as phospholipid carriers, such as sn-1 LPC-DHA or di-DHA-PC, does not increase brain DHA levels compared to NE-DHA or the control group. This study contributes to the ongoing discussion regarding the efficacy of different DHA supplementation strategies in enhancing brain DHA concentrations.
