Biomaterial Database

Fatty acid composition of cerebrosides and phospholipids in brains of undernourished rats. 1979

P S Rao

The effect of undernutrition on the fatty acid profiles of cerebrosides and phospholipids in the developing rat brain has been investigated. Undernutrition was imposed post-natally in pups by the method of large litter size and feeding a protein-deficient diet during the post-weaning period. The results showed that lignoceric (24:0) and nervonic (24:1) acids of cerebrosides, which are marker fatty acids of myelin, were significantly lower in 50-day-old undernourished rats than in well-nourished controls. Among the polyunsaturated fatty acids of phospholipids the contribution of arachidonic acid (20:4) to the total fatty acids was lower in 10- and 21-day-old as well as 50-day-old rats. Altered fatty acid pattern of lipid classes might be the result of impaired myelination of brain due to nutritional stress.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D009748	Nutrition Disorders	Disorders caused by nutritional imbalance, either overnutrition or undernutrition.	Nutritional Disorders,Nutrition Disorder,Nutritional Disorder
D009929	Organ Size	The measurement of an organ in volume, mass, or heaviness.	Organ Volume,Organ Weight,Size, Organ,Weight, Organ
D010743	Phospholipids	Lipids containing one or more phosphate groups, particularly those derived from either glycerol (phosphoglycerides see GLYCEROPHOSPHOLIPIDS) or sphingosine (SPHINGOLIPIDS). They are polar lipids that are of great importance for the structure and function of cell membranes and are the most abundant of membrane lipids, although not stored in large amounts in the system.	Phosphatides,Phospholipid
D011488	Protein Deficiency	A nutritional condition produced by a deficiency of proteins in the diet, characterized by adaptive enzyme changes in the liver, increase in amino acid synthetases, and diminution of urea formation, thus conserving nitrogen and reducing its loss in the urine. Growth, immune response, repair, and production of enzymes and hormones are all impaired in severe protein deficiency. Protein deficiency may also arise in the face of adequate protein intake if the protein is of poor quality (i.e., the content of one or more amino acids is inadequate and thus becomes the limiting factor in protein utilization). (From Merck Manual, 16th ed; Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, 12th ed, p406)	Deficiency, Protein,Deficiencies, Protein,Protein Deficiencies
D001835	Body Weight	The mass or quantity of heaviness of an individual. It is expressed by units of pounds or kilograms.	Body Weights,Weight, Body,Weights, Body
D001921	Brain	The part of CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM that is contained within the skull (CRANIUM). Arising from the NEURAL TUBE, the embryonic brain is comprised of three major parts including PROSENCEPHALON (the forebrain); MESENCEPHALON (the midbrain); and RHOMBENCEPHALON (the hindbrain). The developed brain consists of CEREBRUM; CEREBELLUM; and other structures in the BRAIN STEM.	Encephalon
D002554	Cerebrosides	Neutral glycosphingolipids that contain a monosaccharide, normally glucose or galactose, in 1-ortho-beta-glycosidic linkage with the primary alcohol of an N-acyl sphingoid (ceramide). In plants the monosaccharide is normally glucose and the sphingoid usually phytosphingosine. In animals, the monosaccharide is usually galactose, though this may vary with the tissue and the sphingoid is usually sphingosine or dihydrosphingosine. (From Oxford Dictionary of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 1st ed)
D005227	Fatty Acids	Organic, monobasic acids derived from hydrocarbons by the equivalent of oxidation of a methyl group to an alcohol, aldehyde, and then acid. Fatty acids are saturated and unsaturated (FATTY ACIDS, UNSATURATED). (Grant & Hackh's Chemical Dictionary, 5th ed)	Aliphatic Acid,Esterified Fatty Acid,Fatty Acid,Fatty Acids, Esterified,Fatty Acids, Saturated,Saturated Fatty Acid,Aliphatic Acids,Acid, Aliphatic,Acid, Esterified Fatty,Acid, Saturated Fatty,Esterified Fatty Acids,Fatty Acid, Esterified,Fatty Acid, Saturated,Saturated Fatty Acids
D000818	Animals	Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA.	Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D051381	Rats	The common name for the genus Rattus.	Rattus,Rats, Laboratory,Rats, Norway,Rattus norvegicus,Laboratory Rat,Laboratory Rats,Norway Rat,Norway Rats,Rat,Rat, Laboratory,Rat, Norway,norvegicus, Rattus