The influence of dietary manipulation with n−3 and n−6 fatty acids on liver and plasma phospholipid fatty acids in rats

Citations Over TimeTop 10% of 1986 papers

Abstract

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 gamma-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-gamma-linolenic acid (DGLA) (p less than 0.05), a metabolite of LA and GLA, and lower levels of arachidonic acid (AA) (p less than 0.01), a metabolite of DGLA through delta-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.

Related Papers

• → The effect of gamma-linolenic acid, an in vitro cytostatic substance contained in evening primrose oil, on primary liver cancer. A double-blind placebo controlled trial(1990)37 cited
• → The effects of evening primrose oil, safflower oil and paraffin on plasma fatty acid levels in humans: Choice of an appropriate placebo for clinical studies on primrose oil(1991)29 cited
• → Borage or primrose oil added to standardized diets are equivalent sources for γ‐linolenic acid in rats(1992)19 cited
• → Gamma-Linolenic acid levels correlate with clinical efficacy of evening primrose oil in patients with atopic dermatitis(2014)2 cited
• → Enzymatic fractionation of evening primrose oil by rape lipase: Enrichment of gamma-linolenic acid(1989)41 cited