Abstract
Objective—To determine effects of dietary n-3 fatty acids from Menhaden fish oil on plasma α-tocopherol concentrations in Beagles.
Animals—32 female Beagles.
Procedure—For 82 days, dogs were fed diets that contained 1 of 2 ratios of n-6:n-3 fatty acids (40:1 [low n-3] and 1.4:1 [high n-3]) and 1 of 3 concentrations of all- rac- α-tocopheryl acetate (low, 17 mg/kg of diet; medium, 101 mg/kg; and high, 447 mg/kg) in a 2 X 3 factorial study.
Results—Diets high in n-3 fatty acids significantly increased total content of n-3 fatty acids in plasma (17.0 g/100 g of fatty acids), compared with low n-3 diets (2.02 g/100 g of fatty acids). Mean ± SEM plasma concentration of cholesterol was significantly lower in dogs consuming high n-3 diets (4.59 ± 0.48 mmol/L), compared with dogs consuming low n-3 diets (5.71 ± 0.48 mmol/L). A significant interaction existed between the ratio for n-6 and n-3 fatty acids and amount of α-tocopheryl acetate in the diet (plasma α-tocopherol concentration expressed on a molar basis), because the plasma concentration of α-tocopherol was higher in dogs consuming low n-3 diets, compared with those consuming high n-3 diets, at the 2 higher amounts of dietary α-tocopheryl acetate. Plasma α-tocopherol concentration expressed relative to total lipid content did not reveal effects of dietary n-3 fatty acids on concentration of α-tocopherol.
Conclusion and Clinical Relevance—Plasma α-tocopherol concentration is not dependent on dietary ratio of n-6 and n-3 fatty acids when α-tocopherol concentration is expressed relative to the total lipid content of plasma. (Am J Vet Res 2002;63:104–110)
