[Specific contribution of dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids of the n-3 series to the development of nervous system membranes].

Polyunsaturated fatty acids, especially omega 3 fatty acids, made a specific contribution to the nervous tissue. Retarded intrauterine growth caused a twofold reduction in the oligodendrocyte ratio of omega 3/omega 6 while the same ratio increased by more than twofold in the neurons. A fatty acid-poor diet composed of arachid or sunflower oil dramatically altered the composition of cells and subcellular particles when compared with a soya or rapeseed oil diet containing omega 3 fatty acids; phosphatidylethanolamine was particularly affected. Nerve cell culture showed that brain essential fatty acids are probably docosahexaenoic acid and arachidonic acid.