Tracer experiments to assess metabolic conversions of polyunsaturated fatty acids

Fifteen groups of rats were maintained on diets free of fat or supplemented with different levels of linoleate, arachidonate or linolenate. After 100 days on the diets the rats were sacrificed and liver slices were incubated with acetate‐1‐14C. The individual fatty acids were separated by gas chromatography and their radioactivity was determined by liquid scintillation counting. The C20 esters were separated by GLC, collected, and the structures of the components were determined by ozonolysis. The acetate incorporation into the various polyunsaturated fatty acids was influenced by the previous dietary conditioning. The distributions of radioactivity indicated that metabolic reactions taking place in the rat liver are modified by dietary supply of essential fatty acids.