Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Platelet and aorta arachidonic and eicosapentaenoic acid levels andin vitro eicosanoid production in rats fed high-fat diets

  • Article
  • Published:
Lipids

Abstract

There is a significant interest in the interrelationship between long-chain n-3, and n-6 fatty acids due to their ability to modulate eicosanoid production. In general, the intake of arachidonic acid (AA) results in enhanced eicosanoid production, whereas n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) decrease the production of eicosanoids from AA. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the effects of dietary AA on eicosanoid production in the rat were correlated with the AA and EPA levels in platelets and aorta (eicosanoid-producing tissues). Four groups of male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed a highfat diet enriched with eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) (approximately 100 mg/day of EPA+DHA) for 24 d. During the last 10 d, the four groups were orally supplemented with 0,30,60, and 90 mg/day of ethyl arachidonate. A further group of rats was fed a control diet (without longchain n-3 PUFA) for 24 d.In vitro aorta prostacyclin (PGI2) production, serum thromboxane A2 (TxA2) production and plasma, and platelet and aorta phospholipid (PL) fatty acids were measured. Enriching the diet with n-3 PUFA resulted in significant reductions in tissue AA levels and an increase in the n-3 PUFA, particularly EPA. On this diet, the AA to EPA ratio was 1:1 in platelet PL, and it was 2:1 in the aorta PL. There were significant decreases in thein vitro PGI2 and TxA2 production compared with the control animals. The inclusion of AA in the diet resulted in marked increases in AA levels in the platelet and aorta PL with corresponding decreases in EPA. The lowest dose of AA (30 mg/rat) reversed the effects of 100 mg/day of n-3 PUFA on AA levels in platelet and aortic PL and onin vitro aorta PGI2 and serum TxA2 production. The dietary AA caused a differential (twofold) increase in TxA2 relative to PGI2 for all three levels of AA supplementation. There were greater changes in the levels of AA and/or EPA in platelet PL compared with the aorta PL, which might have accounted for the differential effects of these PUFA on thromboxane production compared with PGI2 production in this study.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Abbreviations

AA:

arachidonic acid

DHA:

docosahexaenoic acid

EPA:

eicosapentaenoic acid

RIA:

radioimmunoassay

PGI2 :

prostacyclin

PL:

phospholipid

PUFA:

polyunsaturated fatty acid

Tx:

thromboxane

References

  1. Knapp, H.R., Reilly, I.A.G., Alessandrini, P., and FitzGerald, G.A. (1986)In vivo Indexes of Platelet and Vascular Function During Fish-Oil Administration in Patients with Atherosclerosis,N. Engl. J. Med. 314, 937–942.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. von Shacky, C., Fischer, S., and Weber, P.C (1985) Long-Term Effects of Dietary Marine ε3 Fatty Acids upon Plasma and Cellular Lipids, Platelet Function, and Eicosanoid Formation in Humans,J. Clin. Invest., 76, 1626–1631.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Hwang, D.H., Boudreau, M., and Prithiva, C. (1988) Dietary Linolenic Acid and Longer-Chain n-3 Fatty Acids: Comparison of Effects on Arachidonic Acid Metabolism in Rats.J. Nut. 118, 427–437.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Boudreau, M.D., Chanmugam, P.S., Hart, S.B., Lee, S.H., and Hwang, D.H. (1991) Lack of Dose Response by Dietary n-3 Fatty Acids at a Constant Ratio of n-3 to n-6 Fatty Acids in Suppressing Eicosanoid Biosynthesis from Arachidonic Acid,Am. J. Clin. Nutr., 54, 111–117.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Meydani, S.N., Shapiro, A.C., Meydani, M., and Blumberg, J.B. (1992) Lung Eicosanoid Synthesis Is Affected by Age, Dietary Fat and Vitamin E,J. Nutr., 122, 1627–1633.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Brouard, C., and Pascaud, M. (1990) Effects of Moderate Dietary Supplementations with n-3 Fatty Acids on Macrophage and Lymphocyte Phospholipids and Macrophage Eicosanoid Synthesis in the Rat,Biochim. Biophys. Acta, 1047, 19–28.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Berner, L.A. (1993) Roundtable Discussion on Milkfat, Dairy Foods, and Coronary Heart Disease Risk,J. Nutr., 123, 1175–1184.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Whelan, J., Surette, M.E., Hardardottir, I., Lu, G., Golemboski, K.A., Larsen, E., and Kinsella, J.E. (1993) Dietary Arachidonate Enhances Tissue Arachidonate Levels and Eicosanoid Production in Syrian Hamsters,J. Nutr., 123, 2174–2185.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Steel, M.S., Naughton, J.M., Hopkins, G.W., Sinclair, A.J., and O'Dea, K. (1993) Arachidonic Acid Supplementation Dose-Dependently Reverses the Effects of a Butter-Enriched Diet in Rats,Prostaglandins Leukotrienes Essent. Fatty Acids 48, 247–251.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Li, B., Birdwell, C., and Whelan, J. (1994) Antithetic Relationship of Dietary Arachidonic Acid and Eicosapentaenoic Acid on Eicosanoid Productionin vivo.J. Lipid Res., 35, 1869–1877.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Sinclair, A., and O'Dea, K. (1993) The Significance of Arachidonic Acid in Hunter-Gatherer Diets: Implications for the Contemporary Western Diet,J. Food Lipids, 1, 143–157.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Naughton, J.M., O'Dea, K., and Sinclair, A.J. (1986) Animal Foods in Traditional Australian Aboriginal Diets: Polyunsaturated and Low in Fat,Lipids, 21, 684–690.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. O'Dea, K., Steel, M., Naughton, J., Sinclair, A.J., Hopkins, G., Angus, A., He, G-W., Niall, M., and Martin, T.J. (1988) Butter-Enriched Diets Reduce Arterial Prostacyclin Production in Rats,Lipids, 23, 234–241.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Naughton, J.M., Sinclair, A.J., O'Dea, K., and Steel, M.S. (1988) Effects of Dietary Butter Enrichment on the Fatty Acid Distribution of Phospholipid Fractions Isolated from Rat Platelets and Aorta,Biochim. Biophys. Acta, 962, 166–172.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Steel, M.S., Naughton, J.M., Hopkins, G.W., Sinclair, A.J., and O'Dea, K. (1990) Effects of Dietary Fats on Prostanoids Production and Aorta and Plasma Fatty Acid Composition in Rats,Lipids, 25, 719–723.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Bieri, J.G., Stoews, G.S., and Briggs, G.M. (1977) Report of The American Institute of Human Nutrition Ad Hoc Committee on Standards for Nutritional Studies,J. Nutr., 107, 1340–1348.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Mann, N.J., Warrick, G., O'Dea, K., Knapp, H.R., and Sinclair, A.J. (1994) The Effect of Arachidonic Acid and Eicosapentaenoic Acid Supplementation on Prostacyclin Production in Rats Fed a Butter-Enriched Diet,Lipids 29, 157–162.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Block, H.U., Sziegoleit, W., Muller, G., and Mest, H.L. (1987) Experimental Variables Affecting Thromboxane B2 Formation in Whole Human Blood,Prog. Clin. Biol. Res., 242, 149–154.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Human Nutrition and Public Health, Deakin University, 3217, Geelong, Victoria, Australia

    Andrew J. Sanigorski

  2. Department of Food Science, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, 3000, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    Andrew J. Sinclair

  3. The First Department of Internal Medicine, Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutical University, 2630 Sugitani, 930-01, Toyama-shi, Japan

    Tomohito Hamazaki

Authors
  1. Andrew J. Sanigorski
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Andrew J. Sinclair
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Tomohito Hamazaki
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

About this article

Cite this article

Sanigorski, A.J., Sinclair, A.J. & Hamazaki, T. Platelet and aorta arachidonic and eicosapentaenoic acid levels andin vitro eicosanoid production in rats fed high-fat diets. Lipids 31, 729–735 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02522889

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02522889

Keywords

Search

Navigation