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Fatty acids of the milk and food of the platypus ( Ornithorhynchus anatinus )
Author(s) -
Gibson Robert A.,
Neumann Mark,
Grant T. R.,
Griffiths Mervyn
Publication year - 1988
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/bf02537355
Subject(s) - platypus , lipidology , food science , triglyceride , monotreme , clinical chemistry , chemistry , fatty acid , linolenate , biology , biochemistry , cholesterol , zoology , taxonomy (biology) , systematics
Platypus milk fat contains 98.5% triglyceride. Polyunsaturates (C18∶2–C22∶5) account for 29% of the triglyceride fatty acids in the milk fat and 32% of the total fatty acids in the lipid of the food of the platypus. Linoleate and arachidonate are the major ω6 polyunsaturates of both food and milk lipids. However, while the ω3 polyunsaturates linolenate and eicosapentaenoate are present in both food and milk, docosapentaenoate is present in meaningful amounts in milk only. It is suggested that with the exception of 22∶5ω3, the polyunsaturates in platypus milk originate in the diet.