Nutritional properties and oxidation of marine lipid:Effects of dietary triacylglycerol structure on plasma and liver lipid levels in rats fed low-fat diets containing n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids of marine origin

For three weeks rats were fed low-fat diets of which 25% was n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). The n-3 PUFAs originated either from two structured triacylglycerols (TAGs) differing in intramolecular structure or from fish oil. A group fed chow was included as control. Dietary inclusion of n-3 PUFAs increased the level of n-3 PUFAs in plasma and liver. TAG structure influenced the content of individual n-3 PUFAs meaning that enrichment of the sn-2 position with a specific fatty acid increased the level of this fatty acid. Differences in dietary TAG structure did not influence plasma and liver levels of TAG and cholesterol.