TY - JOUR
T1 - Stearidonic acid increases the red blood cell and heart eicosapentaenoic acid content in dogs
AU - Harris, William S.
AU - DiRienzo, Maureen A.
AU - Sands, Scott A.
AU - George, Cherian
AU - Jones, Philip G.
AU - Eapen, Alex K.
N1 - Funding Information:
Acknowledgments The authors thank Gulam Ahmed of Monsanto Company for his expert analysis of the test materials used in this study. This study was funded by a grant from Monsanto Company. WSH is a consultant to the Monsanto Company, Reliant Pharmaceuticals and OmegaMetrix, LLC.
PY - 2007/4
Y1 - 2007/4
N2 - Plant sources of omega-3 fatty acids (FA) are needed that can materially raise tissue levels of long-chain omega-3 FA [i.e., eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA; 20:5n-3) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; 20:6n-3)]. Stearidonic acid (SDA; 18:4n-3) is the delta-6 desaturase product of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA; 18:3n-3), and when fed to humans, increases red blood cell (RBC) content of EPA to a greater extent than does ALA. This study was undertaken to determine the dose-dependence and time course of the increase in the EPA and DHA content of the heart and RBC in dogs. Adult male Beagles were fed 21, 64, or 193 mg/kg of SDA in in their food daily for up to 12 weeks. Positive and negative controls were given EPA (43 mg/kg) or high oleic acid sunflower oil, respectively. The baseline EPA content of RBC was 0.38 ± 0.03% which increased (P < 0.01) in a dose-dependent manner, with the high dose of SDA and EPA achieving levels of 1.33 ± 0.26 and 1.55. ± 0.28%, respectively. In the heart, the content of EPA rose from 0.06 ± 0.01 to 1.24 ± 0.22% in the EPA group and to 0.81 ± 0.32% in the high SDA group (both P < 0.01). In both tissues, DHA did not change. Compared to dietary EPA, SDA was 20-23% as efficient in raising tissue EPA levels. In conclusion, SDA supplementation increased the EPA content of RBC and heart and may have utility as a plant-based source of omega-3 FA.
AB - Plant sources of omega-3 fatty acids (FA) are needed that can materially raise tissue levels of long-chain omega-3 FA [i.e., eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA; 20:5n-3) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; 20:6n-3)]. Stearidonic acid (SDA; 18:4n-3) is the delta-6 desaturase product of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA; 18:3n-3), and when fed to humans, increases red blood cell (RBC) content of EPA to a greater extent than does ALA. This study was undertaken to determine the dose-dependence and time course of the increase in the EPA and DHA content of the heart and RBC in dogs. Adult male Beagles were fed 21, 64, or 193 mg/kg of SDA in in their food daily for up to 12 weeks. Positive and negative controls were given EPA (43 mg/kg) or high oleic acid sunflower oil, respectively. The baseline EPA content of RBC was 0.38 ± 0.03% which increased (P < 0.01) in a dose-dependent manner, with the high dose of SDA and EPA achieving levels of 1.33 ± 0.26 and 1.55. ± 0.28%, respectively. In the heart, the content of EPA rose from 0.06 ± 0.01 to 1.24 ± 0.22% in the EPA group and to 0.81 ± 0.32% in the high SDA group (both P < 0.01). In both tissues, DHA did not change. Compared to dietary EPA, SDA was 20-23% as efficient in raising tissue EPA levels. In conclusion, SDA supplementation increased the EPA content of RBC and heart and may have utility as a plant-based source of omega-3 FA.
KW - Docosahexaenoic acid
KW - Docosapentaenoic acid
KW - Dogs
KW - Eicosapentaenoic acid
KW - Omega-3 fatty acids
KW - Stearidonic acid
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UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=34247586310&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s11745-007-3036-6
DO - 10.1007/s11745-007-3036-6
M3 - Article
C2 - 17406927
AN - SCOPUS:34247586310
SN - 0024-4201
VL - 42
SP - 325
EP - 333
JO - Lipids
JF - Lipids
IS - 4
ER -