Abstract
The positional distribution of fatty acids has been determined for the milk triacylglycerols of the Antarctic fur seal,Arctocephalus gazella. Of particular interest was the positional distribution of the polyunsaturated n−3 fatty acids in milk triacylglycerols (TG). In adipocytes of pinnipeds, TG are synthesized with the n−3 fatty acids primarily in thesn-1,3 positions. To determine the positional distribution, extracts of enzymatically digested lipids were separated by thin-layer chromatography, and the constituent fatty acids were separated and quantified by gas-liquid chromatography. Monoenoic and saturated fatty acids comprised over 75% of the total, the ratio of monoenoic to saturated fatty acids being 2∶1. The percent content of the long-chain n−3 fatty acids, 20∶5, 22∶5 and 22∶6, ranged between 15–20%. The positional analyses revealed that at thesn-2 position of milk TG, saturated fatty acids were in excess (57%), and the content of n−3 fatty acids was less than 5%. More than 80% of the n−3 fatty acids in milk were located in thesn-1,3 positions. The data indicate that in pinnipeds TG are synthesized in the mammary gland and adipose tissue with fatty acids having similar positional distributions.
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Abbreviations
- TG:
-
triacylglycerol
- TLC:
-
thin-layer chromatography
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Puppione, D.L., Kuehlthau, C.M., Jandacek, R.J. et al. Positional analyses of triacylglycerol fatty acids in the milk fat of the antarctic fur seal (Arctocephalus gazella). Lipids 27, 637–639 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02536124
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02536124