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The Regulation of Depot Fat by Linoleic Acid

Department of Pathology and the Institute of Comparative Medicine, Columbia University, New York and E. F. Drew and Company, Inc., Boonton, New Jersey

1. Matching groups of weanling male rats were fed purified diets containing either no fat, 20% of a mixture of saturated triglycerides (MCT) containing 7% of C₆, 78% of C₈, and 14% of C₁₀ acids, or 20% of a mixture of saturated triglycerides (LCT) containing 5% of C₁₀, 45% of C₁₂, 25% of C₁₄, 8% of C₁₆, and 16% of C₁₈ acids. The diets were supplemented with zero, 0.1, or 2% of linoleic acid. After the rats had received the diet for 71 days, they were killed and the testicular fat bodies pooled and subjected to gasliquid chromatography.

2. When the fat-free diets were fed, the depot fat consisted of not more than 2% of acids having chains shorter than C₁₈. The main constituent was oleate, the level of which declined when 2% of linoleic acid was added to the diet. With the latter diet, 21% of linoleate was noted in the depot fat.

3. With MCT and no linoleic acid, the depot fat was similar to that of the animals fed the corresponding fat-free diet. With 2% of linoleic acid, substantial amounts of C₈, C₁₀, and C₁₂ acids were deposited; the oleate content declined from 45 to 26%, and the linoleate level was 11%.

4. With LCT, the depot fat contained a large amount of laurate and myristate. Linoleic acid supplementation increased their levels at the expense of oleate, with 0.1% of linoleic acid having a considerable effect. With 2% of linoleic acid in the diet, the depot fat contained 6% of linoleate.

5. It is concluded that linoleate regulates the type of fat deposited; it leads to a decrease in neutral fat in relation to body weight and facilitates the laying down of a depot fat more representative of that in the diet.