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The influence of dietary manipulation with n−3 and n−6 fatty acids on liver and plasma phospholipid fatty acids in rats
Author(s) -
Nassar B. A.,
Huang Y. S.,
Manku M. S.,
Das U. N.,
Morse N.,
Horrobin D. F.
Publication year - 1986
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/bf02537216
Subject(s) - arachidonic acid , docosahexaenoic acid , fish oil , evening primrose oil , metabolite , eicosapentaenoic acid , chemistry , medicine , gamma linolenic acid , phospholipid , lipidology , linoleic acid , fatty acid , biochemistry , endocrinology , polyunsaturated fatty acid , biology , food science , enzyme , fish <actinopterygii> , membrane , fishery
The interrelations between linoleic acid (LA) metabolites and fish oil fatty acids were studied. Sprague‐Dawley rats (200–220 g) were fed a fat‐free semisynthetic diet supplemented with 10% (by weight) of different combinations of evening primrose oil (EPO), a rich source of LA and γ‐linolenic acid, and polepa (POL), a marine oil rich in eicosapentaenoic (EPA) and docosahexaenoic (DHA) acids. The combinations of supplement were as follows: 9% EPO‐1% POL, 8% EPO‐2% POL, 7% EPO‐3% POL, 6% EPO‐4% POL and 5% EPO‐5% POL. After two weeks on the respective diets, the animals were killed, and the fatty acid compositions of liver and plasma phospholipids were examined. The results showed that animals fed higher proportions of POL consistently contained higher levels of dihomo‐γ‐linolenic acid (DGLA) (p<0.05), a metabolite of LA and GLA, and lower levels of arachidonic acid (AA) (p<0.01), a metabolite of DGLA through Δ‐5‐desaturation. Thus, an inverse relationship between AA/DGLA ratio and EPA levels was found to exist (r=−0.765 in plasma and −0.792 in liver). However, there was no such relationship between AA/DGLA ratio and DHA levels. This result suggested that EPA but not DHA in fish oil exerts an inhibitory effect on the conversion of DGLA to AA.