Early development of essential fatty acid deficiency in rats: Fat-free vs. hydrogenated coconut oil diet

This study examined the effects of feeding an essential fatty acid deficient (EFAD) diet either without fat or with added hydrogenated coconut oil (HCO) on fatty acid profiles in rats. Both diets induced equivalent biochemical evidence of EFAD reflected by the triene/tetraene ratio in plasma phospholipids within 2 weeks. However, the HCO diet led to larger increases of 16:1n7 and 18:1n9 in muscle but smaller increases in fat tissue and plasma triglycerides than the fat-free diet, suggesting greater increases in hepatic de novo lipogenesis with the latter. In addition, the HCO diet led to larger decreases of some 18:3n3 metabolites, particularly 22:6n3, in muscle, fat and brain tissues than the fat-free diet, presumably related to lesser stimulation of elongation and desaturation. Thus, these secondary effects of an EFAD diet on fatty acid metabolism can be modified by the saturated fat in the diet while the primary impact of both diets on development of EFAD is unaffected.