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Arachidonic Acid (AA) Deficiency

QueijoFresco.
QueijoFresco.

What Is Arachidonic Acid?

Arachidonic acid is a major essential (must have/can’t make) omega-6 fatty acid.

Structurally, arachidonic acid is a key component of nerve membranes, together with docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), a major opposing omega-3 fatty acid, making up 15-20% of the brain’s dry mass and more than 30% of the retina.

In healthy human volunteers, positron emission tomography (PET) has shown that the normal human brain consumes 17.8 mg/day of arachidonic acid.1

Arachidonic acid is particularly concentrated in highly active membranes such as nerve synapses (junctions) and in photoreceptors in the eye retina.2

Arachidonic acid is an important building substance for the eicosanoids.

Q: What function do the eicosanoids have that are derived from arachidonic acid?

A: Eicosanoids are a large group of highly bioactive hormone-like substances including prostaglandins, leukotrienes, and thromboxanes that are involved in blood clotting, inflammation, and vasoconstriction. Eicosanoids derived from arachidonic acid are pro-inflammatory, pro-blood clotting, and constrict blood vessels in opposition to those derived from the omega-3 fatty acids which do the opposite in order to keep a balance in the body.

What Is Arachidonic Acid Deficiency In Celiac Disease and/or Gluten Sensitivity?

Sources:
  1. Rapoport SI. Brain arachidonic and docosahexaenoic acid cascades are selectively altered by drugs, diet and disease. Prostaglandins Leukot Essent Fatty Acids. 2008 Sep-Nov;79(3-5):153-6. Epub 2008 Oct 29. [↩]
  2. Richardson AJ. The importance of omega-3 fatty acids for behavior, cognition, and mood. Scandinavian Journal of Nutrition. 2003;47(2):92-8. [↩]

Steatorrhea

A 3-D model of homocysteine.
A 3-D model of homocysteine.

What Is Elevated Homocysteine?

E levated homocysteine in blood, called hyperhomocysteinemia, indicates an abnormal blood level of this transient amino acid.

Q: How does the level of homocysteine become abnormal?

A: In metabolism, homocysteine is briefly formed in the breakdown of the amino acid methionine. It is normally converted to cystathione and then to the amino acid cysteine by means of an enzyme that requires vitamin B6.

In the reverse, conversion of homocysteine to methionine requires an enzyme dependent on adequate folic acid and vitamin B12 levels.

Insufficient methionine levels and/or inefficiency in this process results in elevated homocysteine plasma levels that are toxic to blood vessels.

Folic acid, vitamin B12 and vitamin B6 are involved in the metabolic removal of homocysteine, but folic acid deficit occurs the most often.1

What Is Elevated Homocysteine In Celiac Disease and/or Gluten Sensitivity?

Sources:
  1. Lim PO, Tzemos N, Farquharson CA, et al. Reversible hypertension following coeliac disease treatment: the role of moderate hyperhomocysteinaemia and vascular endothelial dysfunction. Journal of Human Hypertension. Jun 2002;16(6):411-5. [↩]