Metabolic fate of DHA from regio- and stereospecific positions of triacylglycerols in a long-term feeding trial in rats

[Display omitted] •Regio- and enantiopure TAGs containing DHA in different positions were synthesized.•Bioavailability of DHA from different positions of TAGs was studied in rats.•sn-1 DHA resulted in higher DHA content in plasma TAG than sn-2 and sn-3 DHA.•Feeding with sn-3 DHA led to higher DHA level in visceral fat than sn-1/sn-2 DHA.•n-3 deficient feeding for four weeks reduced DHA levels in tissues and organs. This study investigated the impact of regio- and stereospecific position of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in dietary triacylglycerols (TAGs) on the fatty acid composition of tissues and organs in rats. Four-week feeding with TAGs containing DHA in sn-1, 2, or 3 position and palmitic acid in the remaining positions at a daily dosage of 500 mg TAG/kg body weight significantly increased the DHA content in all organs and tissues in rats, except in the brain, where the change in DHA level was not statistically significant. The group fed sn-1 DHA showed a significantly higher content of DHA in the plasma TAG than the group fed sn-3 DHA. The sn-3 DHA group had higher levels of DHA in the visceral fat compared to the sn-1, sn-2, as well as all other groups. This is the first study showing that DHA from sn-1 and sn-3 positions of dietary TAGs have differential accumulation in tissues. The new findings improved the current knowledge on the significance of TAG isomeric structure for the bioavailability and metabolic fate of DHA.