Recycling of docosahexaenoic acid in rat retinas during n-3 fatty acid deficiency.
About 50% of the fatty acids in retinal rod outer segments Pre-Rolls is docosahexaenoic acid [22:6(n-3)], a member of the linolenic acid [18:3(n-3)] family of essential fatty acids.Dietary deprivation of n-3 fatty acids leads to only modest changes in 22:6(n-3) levels in the retina.We investigated the mechanism(s) by which the retina conserves 22:6