Intestinal conversion of linoleic acid to arachidonic acid in the rat

Abstract The arachidonic acid (C20:4, n-6) appearing in intestinal lymph during linoleic acid (C18:2, n-6) absorption may originate from enterocyte synthesis or from the liver either after secretion in biliary phospholipids at the same time dietary linoleic acid absorption occurs or via plasma. The radioactivity measured in the total bile collected during the 6 hours of linoleic acid absorption is too small to explain hepatic origin of the C20:4 detected by high performance liquid chromatography analysis of labeled fatty acids recovered in the lymph, in the intestinal mucosa, and the intestinal wall at the peak of linoleic acid intestinal absorption. This study confirms the probability that…

Influence of cyclopropene fatty acids (Baobab seed oil) feeding on the in vitro Δ9 desaturation of stearic acid in rat liver microsomes

Abstract Δ9 desaturation of [1−14C] stearic acid to oleic acid was studied in liver microsomes of rats fed either fresh Baobab seed oil, containing cyclopropene fatty acids (malvalic acid and sterculic acids), or heated Baobab oil, containing only minor amounts of these acids. This was compared with rats fed a control oil mixture or a fat-free diet. Up to 50 nmol of substrate, Δ9 desaturation rate was the same in rats fed the three fat diets. From 50 to 150 nmol, the desaturation rates were practically constant in rats fed fresh Baobab seed oil. It increased in heated oil-fed rats at the same rate as in the control group, but more slowly than in the fat-free diet group. Fatty acid compositi…

Effect of low levels of dietary fish oil on fatty acid desaturation and tissue fatty acids in obese and lean rats

The effect of very low levels of dietary long-chain n-3 fatty acids on delta 6 desaturation of linoleic acid (18:2n-6) and alpha-linolenic acid (18:3n-3), and on delta 5 desaturation of dihomo-gamma-linolenic acid (20:3n-6), in liver microsomes and its influence on tissue fatty acids were examined in obese and lean Zucker rats and in Wistar rats. Animals fed for 12 wk a balanced diet containing ca. 200 mg of long-chain polyunsaturated n-3 fatty acids per 100 g of diet were compared to those fed the same amount of alpha-linolenic acid. Low amounts of long-chain n-3 fatty acids greatly inhibited delta 6 desaturation of 18:2n-6 and delta 5 desaturation of 20:3n-6, while delta 6 desaturation of…

EFFECTS OF CYCLOPROPENOID FATTY ACIDS (BAOBAB SEED OIL) ON THE FATTY ACID PROFILE OF LIPIDS FROM DIFFERENT TISSUES IN THE RAT

Rats were fed for 8 weeks a diet containing either Baobab seed oil (FBO) rich in cyclopropenoid fatty acids (CPFA) or heated oil (HBO) devoid of CPFA. In FBO rats, compared to controls (CO), the monounsaturated fatty acid content of adipose tissue lipids, liver triacylglycerols, liver and adrenal cholesteryl esters and liver, kidney, adrenal phospholipids were highly decreased to the benefit of saturated fatty acid content. In cholesteryl esters and phospholipids, the arachidonic acid (20:4 n-6) content was markedly decreased, especially in adrenals. In adrenal cholesteryl esters, adrenic acid (22:4 n-6) content was decreased more than its precursor. The effects of HBO on the tissue lipid f…

Delta 5-desaturation of dihomogammalinolenic acid (20:3(n-6)) into arachidonic acid (20:4(n-6)) by rat liver microsomes and incorporation of fatty acids in microsome phospholipids.

Abstract Liver microsomes of rats fed an essential fatty acid (EFA)-deficient diet or a commercial balanced diet were used to study the effect of incubation time on the Δ 5 -desaturation of [ 14 C] dihomogammalinolenic acid (20:3( n −6)) into arachidonic acid (20:4( n −6)) and incorporation of the two acids into microsomal phospholipids. The EFA-deficient diet highly increased the desaturation rate of 20:3( n −6). Incorporation of the formed 20:4( n −6) into microsomal phospholipids was also increased but at saturating concentration of substrate only. At early times of incubation, the precursor 20:3( n −6) was rapidly incorporated into phospholipids. Formation and incorporation of 20:4( n −…

Dietary arachidonic acid and hepatic desaturation of fatty acids in obese zucker rats

The effect of low levels of dietary arachidonic acid (20:4n-6) on Δ6 desaturation of linoleic acid (18:2n-6) and α-linolenic acid (18:3n-3), and on Δ5 desaturation of dihomo-γ-linolenic acid (20:3n-6) were studied in liver microsomes of obese Zucker rats, in comparison with their lean littermates. Fatty acid composition of serum total lipids and of phospholipids from liver microsomes and from total heart and kidney was determined to see whether modifications of desaturation rate, if any, were reflected in the tissue fatty acid profiles. Animals fed for 12 wk on a balanced diet, containing 20:4n-6 and 18:2n-6, were compared to those fed 18:2n-6 only. The low amount of dietary 20:4n-6 greatly…

Elongation and desaturation of arachidonic and eicosapentaenoic acids in rat liver. Effect of clofibrate feeding

The fatty acid elongation-desaturation ability of 5,8,11,14-eicosatetraenoic (20:4(n-6)) and 5,8,11,14,17-eicosapentaenoic (20:5(n-3)) acids was determined in both liver microsomal and light mitochondrial (rich in peroxisomes) fractions of untreated and clofibrate treated rats. The elongation and the subsequent desaturation steps were performed in the corresponding favorable media. 20:5(n-3) elongation was about 2-times more extensive than that of 20:4(n-6). Clofibrate feeding for 10 days resulted in a marked decrease in the elongation rate with the two substrates, while the delta 4 desaturation rate was increased. There were small differences in the elongation rate between the microsomal a…

18:2Δ 9c,12t and 18:2 Δ9t,12c are present in our diet, as result of heat treatment of vegetable oils. A nutritional study was carried out in order to obtain more precise information on the conversion of these two isomers into long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) by rat tissues. This in vivo study performed using rat fed with small quantities of mono trans linoleic acid isomers (0.6% of total energy) showed that 18:2 Δ9c,12t was converted into 20:4 Δ5c,8c,11c,14t while 18:2 Δ9t,12c was only slightly converted into 20:4 Δ5c,8c,11t,14c. Furthermore 18:2 Δ9t,12c was preferentially elongated into 20:2 Δ11t,14c. Each C20 metabolite of these mono trans 18:2 isomers was isolated as methyl …