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Effects of chronic alcohol ingestion on the fatty acid composition of the heart
Author(s) -
Reitz Ronald C.,
Helsabeck Eric,
Mason David P.
Publication year - 1973
Publication title -
lipids
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.601
H-Index - 120
eISSN - 1558-9307
pISSN - 0024-4201
DOI - 10.1007/bf02534333
Subject(s) - clinical chemistry , arachidonic acid , chemistry , lipidology , alcohol , linoleic acid , adipose tissue , ingestion , fatty acid , composition (language) , endocrinology , food science , medicine , biochemistry , enzyme , linguistics , philosophy
The effects of alcohol on the total fatty acid composition of the heart have been measured, and two highly significant differences were noted between the alcohol‐treated animals and the two control groups. Linoleic acid was elevated, and arachidonic acid was decreased. The increase in linoleate appeared to be a generalized increase within the various lipids analyzed, whereas the decrease in arachidonate was accounted for largely in the phosphatidyl cholines. The ratios of 20∶4ω6/18∶2 were calculated and compared to data from other researchers. The decrease in this ratio in the hearts from the alcohol‐treated animals was similar to the data from the liver of animals treated with various agents which produce a fatty liver. Various mechanisms that could cause such changes in these two essential fatty acids are discussed, and it was concluded that a combination of effects could cause these changes in linoleate and arachidonate. These effects include: (a) increased mobilization of linoleate from adipose tissue; (b) decreased β‐oxidation of linoleate; and (c) inhibition of the elongation‐desaturation system which converts linoleate to arachidonate.