Functional Foods Bioactive Components

The present section will give an update of some important literature on polyunsaturated fatty acid (LCPUFAs)
on human development and brain function with reflex on memory and cognition, with
emphasis on docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). DHA is a structural constituent of cell membranes,
specifically in the central nervous system (CNS). Its accumulation in the fetal brain takes place mainly
during the last trimester of pregnancy and continues at very high rates up to the end of the second
year of life. Fetal LC-PUFAs accumulation occurs early in fetal life when weight increase of the fetus
becomes more rapid and growth is accompanied by a deposition of fat tissue, which begins around
the 30th week of gestation (Haggarty et al., 2004). Fetal fat tissues contain relatively low levels of DHA
and AA (arachidonic acid) compared to the large relative amounts of LC-PUFAs that are deposited in
the brain (Kuipers et al., 2012a, b). However, the absolute amount of DHA in fetal adipose tissue
exceeds that in the brain (Haggarty et al., 2004).