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Lower Efficacy in the Utilization of Dietary ALA as Compared to Preformed EPA + DHA on Long Chain n‐3 PUFA Levels in Rats
Author(s) -
Talahalli Ramaprasad R.,
Vallikannan Baskaran,
Sambaiah Kari,
Lokesh Belur R.
Publication year - 2010
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/s11745-010-3464-6
Subject(s) - docosahexaenoic acid , polyunsaturated fatty acid , eicosapentaenoic acid , fish oil , linseed oil , food science , chemistry , lipidology , fatty acid , biology , biochemistry , fish <actinopterygii> , fishery
We made a comparative analysis of the uptake, tissue deposition and conversion of dietary α‐linolenic acid (ALA) to its long chain metabolites eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) with preformed EPA + DHA. Diets containing linseed oil [with ALA at ~2.5 (4 g/kg diet), 5 (8 g/kg diet), 10 (16 g/kg diet), 25% (40 g/kg diet)] or fish oil [with EPA + DHA at ~1 (1.65 g/kg diet), 2.5 (4.12 g/kg diet), 5% (8.25 g/kg diet)] or groundnut oil without n‐3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n‐3 PUFA) were fed to rats for 60 days. ALA and EPA + DHA in serum, liver, heart and brain increased with increments in the dietary ALA level. When preformed EPA + DHA were fed, the tissue EPA + DHA increased significantly compared to those given ALA. Normalized values from dietary n‐3 PUFA to tissue EPA + DHA indicated that 100 mg of dietary ALA lead to accumulation of EPA + DHA at 2.04, 0.70, 1.91 and 1.64% of total fatty acids respectively in liver, heart, brain and serum. Similarly 100 mg of preformed dietary EPA + DHA resulted in 25.4, 23.8, 15.9 and 14.9% of total fatty acids in liver, heart, brain and serum respectively. To maintain a given level of EPA + DHA, the dietary ALA required is 12.5, 33.5, 8.3 and 9.1 times higher than the dietary EPA + DHA for liver, heart, brain and serum respectively. Hence the efficacy of precursor ALA is lower compared to preformed EPA + DHA in elevating serum and tissue long chain n‐3 PUFA levels.