Fatty Acid Composition of the Small Bowel Mucosa in Man

The fatty acid composition of the lipids of the small bowel mucosa is relatively constant in both fasting normal subjects and in fasting patients with primary, nontropical sprue. Significantly, however, stearic and linoleic acid levels are lower in patients with sprue than in normal subjects. The fatty acid composition of the mucosa in patients with sprue parallels the composition of leukocytes which are low in both stearic and linoleic acids, and high in arachidonic acid, as compared to homogenates of mucosa from normal subjects. Since leukocyte infiltration within the mucosa is demonstrable in patients with sprue, it is concluded that the altered fatty acid composition of the mucosa in sprue can be attributed, at least in part, to dilution by cellular infiltration.