• BMB Reports
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.499-505
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• 2000

The level of long-chain n-3 fatty acids in chicken and pork can be increased by changing the diet of the animals. Increased levels of these essential fatty acids improve cardiovascular health in humans. The purpose of this study was to study the effects of the consumption of pork and chicken enriched in docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) on plasma lipids. The consumption of these products decreased the levels of two cardiovascular risk factors, LDL-cholesterol and triacylglycerols, in the plasma of female college students. The effect on LDL-cholesterol differed from that of fish oil, which does not affect the level of LDL-cholesterol. The proportions of DHA in the triacylglycerols and the glycerophospholipids were increased markedly. The greatest changes in the glycerophospholipids were in the ether types of the ethanolamine glycerophospholipids. Dietary DHA appears to be incorporated preferentially into the plasma ethanolamine plasmalogens, which can act as antioxidants. This agrees with our hypothesis that DHA stimulated the transcription of the genes for peroxisomal enzymes that are required for plasmalogen synthesis.

• BMB Reports
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.360-365
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• 2005

Membrane inositol glycerophospholipid (IGP) is metabolized to phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate (PIP), phosphatidylinositol-4, 5-bisphosphate ($PIP_2$), and inositol triphosphate ($IP_3$) in signaling transduction. This study was carried out to determine the subclasses of IGP involved in signaling pathway. The acyl chain moieties of the phospholipids are easily modulated by dietary fatty acids. We analyzed acyl chain composition of IGP 3-subclasses, PIP and $PIP_2$ from rat brain after feeding sunflower seed oil enriched with linoleic acid or fish oil high in eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid. Long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA) as eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid were not incorporated into ether-linked IGP (alkenylacylglycerophosphoinositol and alkylacyl-glycerophosphoinositol), PIP and $PIP_2$, while diacyl-glycerophosphoinositol (GPI) contained high LCPUFA. These results suggest that PIP might be phosphorylated from only the ether-linked IGP (alkenylacyl- and alkylacyl species) but not from diacyl subclass for signals to intracellular responses in the plasma membrane of rat brain.