Dietary ALA from Spinach Enhances Liver n-3 Fatty Acid Content to Greater Extent than Linseed Oil in Mice Fed Equivalent Amounts of ALA.

Although several works have reported absorption rate differences of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) bound to different lipid forms, such as ethyl ester, triacylglycerol (TAG), and phospholipids, no studies have investigated the effect of n-3 PUFA from glycolipids (GL). The present study compared the fatty acid contents of tissue and serum lipids from normal C57BL/6J mice fed two types of α-linolenic acid (ALA)-rich lipids, spinach lipid (SPL), and linseed oil (LO). ALA was primarily present as the GL form in SPL, while it existed as TAG in LO. Supplementation of both lipids increased ALA and its n-3 metabolites, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosapentaenoic acid (DPA), and docosahexaenoic acid, and decreased n-6 PUFA, linoleic acid and arachidonic acid, in the livers, small intestines, and sera of the treated mice compared with those of the control group. When the comparison between the SPL and LO diets containing the same amount of ALA was conducted, the EPA and DPA levels in the liver lipids from mice fed the SPL diet were significantly higher than those fed the LO diet. Additionally, the total contents of n-3 PUFA of lipids from the livers, small intestines, and sera of the SPL group were higher than those of the LO group.

The location of brainstem neurons with bilateral projections to the motor nuclei of jaw openers in the cat.

Symmetrical motor output is the rule in the masticatory system. We examined morphologically how this functional symmetry might be reflected in the organization of premotor neurons that could mediate excitation of jaw-opener motoneurons. Premotor neurons projecting bilaterally to jaw-opener motoneurons by way of axon collaterals were identified by retrograde dual-labeling with cholera toxin B-conjugated fluorescein isothiocyanate (CTb-FITC) and tetramethylrhodamine (TMR). In each cat, CTb-FITC and TMR were injected into the digastric motoneuron pools, respectively, on the left and right sides. In three animals, 69-147 neurons were labeled with both tracers, comprising approximately 44% of all retrogradely labeled cells. Double-labeled cells were located bilaterally in the trigeminal oral nucleus (Vo) and the adjacent reticular formation (RF), the former containing a larger number of cells. Neurons labeled with only one tracer were also distributed bilaterally in the Vo and RF. The results indicated that the bilaterally projecting premoter neurons identified mainly in the Vo and RF represent neuronal substrates for the symmetry that characterizes most jaw movements.