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Modification of Rat Platelet Fatty Acid Composition by Dietary Lipids of Animal and Vegetable Origin¹

Cell Biology Research Group, Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1

There were no statistically significant differences in final body weight or in food intake among groups of rats fed for 7 wk various fats of animal origin (lard fat and cod liver oil) or vegetable origin (corn, soybean and canola oils); the fats were fed as 10% of the diet (by wt) and were of varied fatty acid composition. Nevertheless, the mean weights of the kidneys from cod liver oil-fed animals were significantly higher than those of all other dietary groups. Platelets of rats from the groups receiving the animal fat contained significantly lower levels of linoleic acid, 18:2(n-6) [a precursor of arachidonic acid, 20:4(n-6)], than did platelets from rats receiving the fat of vegetable origin. Although the soybean-, canola- and cod liver oil-fed animals received substantial quantities of (n-3) fatty acids [-linolenic acid, 18:3(n-3); eicosapentaenoic acid, 20:5(n-3); and docosahexaenoic acid, 22:6(n-3)], only the platelets of the latter two groups contained detectable levels of these fatty acids along with their products of elongation/desaturation/retroconversion. Platelets of the cod liver oil-fed group contained significantly less arachidonic acid, a major precursor of eicosanoids, than did those from all other dietary groups. However, platelet arachidonic levels also varied markedly among the other dietary groups. Diet-induced fatty acid changes observed in platelets of various dietary groups may influence platelet responses, including secretion, aggregation and biosynthesis of eicosanoids.

KEY WORDS: • platelets • fatty acids • dietary lipids • rats

¹ This work was supported by grants, awarded to V. G. Mahadevappa, from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and from the Canola Council of Canada.

² Present address: Brescia College, London, Ontario, Canada N6G 1H2.

³ To whom correspondence should be addressed.

Manuscript received 13 October 1989. Revision accepted 21 December 1989.