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Levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids in tissues from zinc-deficient rats fed a linseed oil diet

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Lipids

Abstract

The effect of zinc deficiency on the levels of n−6 and n−3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in lipids from tissues of rats fed a diet containing linseed oil was investigated. Rats were fed either a control diet (25 mg Zn/kg) or a zinc-deficient diet (0.8 mg Zn/kg) for 10 d. To avoid energy and nutrient deficiency, 11.6 g of diet per day was administered by gastric tube. At the end of the experiment, rats fed the zinc-deficient diet had drastically reduced plasma zinc concentration and alkaline phosphatase activity consistent with severe zinc deficiency in these rats. Zinc-deficient rats had higher levels of n−3 PUFA, in particular eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and lower levels of n−6 PUFA, in particular linoleic acid, in liver and plasma phosphatidylcholine (PC) and in erythrocyte membrane total lipids than did control rats. By contrast, the levels of n−3 PUFA in PC from testes and heart, and in phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) from liver, testes and heart, were only slightly different between zinc-deficient and control rats. The study suggests that desaturation of α-linolenic acid is not inhibited by zinc deficiency, and that in zinc-deficient rats, n−3 PUFA preferentially incorporated into phospholipids at the expense of n−6 PUFA, especially EPA into PC. The study also shows that the effect of zinc deficiency on PUFA levels is different for PC and PE in rat tissues.

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Abbreviations

DHA:

docosahexaenoic acid

DPA:

docosapentaenoic acid

EFA:

essential fatty acids

EPA:

eicosapentaenoic acid

HPLC:

high-performance liquid chromatography

MUFA:

monounsaturated fatty acids

PC:

phosphatidylcholine

PE:

phosphatidylethanolamine

PUFA:

polyunsaturated fatty acids

SFA:

saturated fatty acids

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Ernährungsphysiologie, Technische Universität München, 85350, Freising, Germany

    Klaus Eder & Manfred Kirchgessner

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  1. Klaus Eder
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  2. Manfred Kirchgessner
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Eder, K., Kirchgessner, M. Levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids in tissues from zinc-deficient rats fed a linseed oil diet. Lipids 29, 839–844 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02536251

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02536251

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