ABSTRACT
Two of themost studied long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA) are arachidonic acid (AA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Both are components of breast milk; whereas the latter is also a component of nervous tissue membranes (1). These fatty acids (particularly AA) have been largely studied for their conversion to classical eicosanoids (prostaglandins, leukotrienes, HETES, lipoxins, resolvins, etc.) and subsequent signaling. As first shown by Berger et al. (2), it is now clear that dietary fatty acids are also precursors to endocannabinoids (eCBs), which bind cannabinoid CB1 and CB2 receptors (CB1R and CB2R) (3). It is also noteworthy that the diet is also a minor source of preformed eCBs, as previously reviewed (4-7) (Fig. 1). In this chapter, we review the available data suggesting that the diet, and in particular its fatty acid composition, might influence endocannabinoid levels and, subsequently, affect function in the brain and peripheral organs.
