Essential role of docosahexaenoic acid towards development of a smarter brain Kusumika Gharami 1 , Moitreyi Das 1 , Sumantra Das * Neurobiology Department, Cell Biology & Physiology Division, Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, 4 Raja S. C. Mullick Road, Jadavpur, Kolkata, 700032, India article info Article history: Received 10 April 2015 Received in revised form 18 August 2015 Accepted 26 August 2015 Available online xxx Keywords:: Brain development Docosahexaenoic acid Memory Neurogenesis Nutraceutic abstract Evolution of the high order brain function in humans can be attributed to intake of poly unsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) of which the u-3 fatty acid, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) has special significance. DHA is abundantly present in the human brain and is an essential requirement in every step of brain devel- opment like neural cell proliferation, migration, differentiation, synaptogenesis etc. The multiple double bonds and unique structure allow DHA to impart special membrane characteristics for effective cell signaling. Evidences indicate that DHA accumulate in areas of the brain associated with learning and memory. Many development disorders like dyslexia, autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyper- activity disorder, schizophrenia etc. are causally related to decreased level of DHA. The review discusses the various reports of DHA in these areas for a better understanding of the role of DHA in overall brain development. Studies involving laboratory animals and clinical findings in cases as well as during trials have been taken into consideration. Additionally the currently available dietary source of DHA for supplementation as nutraceutics with general caution for overuse has been examined. © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Contents 1. Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 00 2. DHA and brain evolution ............................................................................................................ 00 3. DHA composition in brain ........................................................................................................... 00 4. DHA transport to fetus .............................................................................................................. 00 5. DHA in brain development .......................................................................................................... 00 6. Developmental disorders and DHA ................................................................................................... 00 7. Role of DHA on learning and memory function ......................................................................................... 00 8. Mechanism of action of DHA ........................................................ ................................................ 00 9. DHA as nutraceuticals .............................................................................................................. 00 10. Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 00 References ........................................................................................................................ 00 1. Introduction Brain development is a continuous evolving process which be- gins from early fetal life and continues till reaching adulthood when myelinogenesis is mostly complete. Various genetic, physi- ological and environmental factors, during intrauterine life as well as after birth, ultimately, influence the development of the brain of an individual. Nutrition is, therefore, an essential requirement for * Corresponding author. Neurobiology Division, Cell Biology & Physiology Department, CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, 4 Raja S. C. Mullick Road, Kolkata, 700032, India. E-mail addresses: sdas@iicb.res.in, sumantra00@gmail.com (S. Das). 1 Joint first author. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Neurochemistry International journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/nci http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neuint.2015.08.014 0197-0186/© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Neurochemistry International xxx (2015) 1e12 Please cite this article in press as: Gharami, K., et al., Essential role of docosahexaenoic acid towards development of a smarter brain, Neurochemistry International (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neuint.2015.08.014