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 …