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Very long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in the blubber of ringed seals (Phoca hispida sp.) from Lake Saimaa, Lake Ladoga, the Baltic Sea, and Spitsbergen

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Lipids

Abstract

Blubbers of four ringed seal subspecies from Lake Saimaa, Lake Ladoga, the Baltic Sea, and Spitsbergen were analyzed for very long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (VLCPUFA; >C22) using gas-liquid chromatography and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. The VLCPUFA of the blubber oils were mainly n−3 polyunsaturated fatty acids—23∶5n−3, 24∶3n−3, 24∶4n−3, 24∶5n−3, 24∶6n−3, 26∶5n−3, 26∶6n−3, and 28∶7n−3. The largest VLCPUFA components in all populations were 24∶5n−3 (0.1–0.2 wt% of total fatty acids) and 24∶6n−3 (0.1%), but 24∶4n−3 (0.1%) was also prominent in the Baltic specimens. The blubber oils of the freshwater species contained considerably more 24∶4n−6 and 24∶5n−6 than the blubbers of the marine species. The differences among the VLCPUFA in these subspecies appear to be mainly due to different dietary VLCPUFA.

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Abbreviations

GC/MS:

gas chromatography/mass spectrometry

PUFA:

polyunsaturated fatty acids

VLCPUFA:

very long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, University of Joensuu, Yliopistontie 4, SF-80101, Joensuu, Finland

    Reijo Käkelä & Heikki Hyvärinen

  2. Canadian Institute of Fisheries Technology, Technical University of Nova Scotia, B3J 2X4, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

    Robert G. Ackman

  3. Mekrijärvi Research Station, University of Joensuu, Yliopistontie 4, SF-82900, Ilomantsi, Finland

    Reijo Käkelä

Authors
  1. Reijo Käkelä
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  2. Robert G. Ackman
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  3. Heikki Hyvärinen
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Käkelä, R., Ackman, R.G. & Hyvärinen, H. Very long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in the blubber of ringed seals (Phoca hispida sp.) from Lake Saimaa, Lake Ladoga, the Baltic Sea, and Spitsbergen. Lipids 30, 725–731 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02537799

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02537799

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