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Fatty Acid Status Determination by Cheek Cell Sampling Combined with Methanol-Based Ultrasound Extraction of Glycerophospholipids

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Lipids

Abstract

Tissue and blood fatty acid compositions are used as biological markers of fatty acid intakes to improve dietary assessments. These approaches are invasive and not well accepted, particularly in infants and young children. We developed a sensitive method for the analysis of fatty acids in cheek cell glycerophospholipids, which includes significant improvements of cell sampling, non-chromatographic isolation of glycerophospholipids and base-catalyzed synthesis of fatty acid methyl esters. Sphingophospholipids are not detected by this method. This enables a highly accurate determination of cheek cell glycerophospholipid fatty acids, even if cell numbers are limited. Coefficients of variation for fatty acids contributing more than 0.3% to total glycerophospholipid fatty acids are below 10% in samples with more than 105 cells. Good correlations were shown between docosahexaenoic and eicosapentaenoic acid percentages in cheek cell and plasma glycerophospholipids (r = 0.83 and 0.64, respectively; P < 0.001) with a linear relationship over the whole concentration range observed in adult study participants (n = 29). Cheek cell sampling is non-invasive and can easily be applied in infants. The accuracy and reliability of this new method is comparable to conventional invasive methods for the determination of the n-3 fatty acid status in humans, and it is well applicable in interventional or epidemiological studies.

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Abbreviations

ARA:

Arachidonic acid

BHT:

Butylated hydroxytoluene

CE:

Cholesterol ester

CV:

Coefficient of variation

DHA:

Docosahexaenoic acid

EPA:

Eicosapentaenoic acid

FA:

Fatty acid

FAME:

Fatty acid methyl ester

LC-PUFA:

Long chain polyunsaturated fatty acid

PL:

Phospholipid

SPE:

Solid phase extraction

TAG:

Triacylglycerols

TLC:

Thin layer chromatography

PtdEtn:

Phosphatidyletholamine

PtdCho:

Phosphatidylcholine

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Acknowledgments

We are truly grateful to the ten volunteers who donated their cheek cells for this work. We also acknowledge the financial support by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (project number: 0315680B). B. Koletzko is the recipient of a Freedom to Discover Award of the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation, New York, NY. The method for glycerophospholipid FA analysis in cheek cells and plasma described in this article is in patent pending status.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Metabolic and Nutritional Medicine, Dr. von Hauner Children’s Hospital, University of Munich Medical Center, Lindwurmstr. 4, 80337, Munich, Germany

    Mario Klingler, Hans Demmelmair, Berthold Koletzko & Claudia Glaser

Authors
  1. Mario Klingler
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  2. Hans Demmelmair
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  3. Berthold Koletzko
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  4. Claudia Glaser
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Berthold Koletzko.

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Klingler, M., Demmelmair, H., Koletzko, B. et al. Fatty Acid Status Determination by Cheek Cell Sampling Combined with Methanol-Based Ultrasound Extraction of Glycerophospholipids. Lipids 46, 981–990 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11745-011-3576-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11745-011-3576-7

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