While the review is extremely thoughtful and reflects the deep insights of the author into the field, the two assumptions cited above need be challenged. We fully agree with Hadders-Algra that AA has its own potent and biologically important functions, which makes it unwise to support interventions markedly reducing tissue levels of AA, but we do not have evidence for any such risk with a DHA s...

BACKGROUND Conversion of linoleic acid (LA) and alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) to their higher chain homologues in humans depends on the ratio of ingested n6 and n3 fatty acids. DESIGN AND METHODS In order to determine the most effective ratio with regard to the conversion of ALA to eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), human hepatoma cells were incubated with varying ratios...

We quantified incorporation rates of plasma-derived alpha-linolenic acid (alpha-LNA, 18:3n-3) into "stable" liver lipids and the conversion rate of alpha-LNA to docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6n-3) in male rats fed, after weaning, an n-3 PUFA-adequate diet (4.6% alpha-LNA, no DHA) or an n-3 PUFA-deficient diet (0.2% alpha-LNA, no DHA) for 15 weeks. Unanesthetized rats were infused intravenously ...

Lipids were extracted from alfalfa samples collected at intervals over the growing season and were fractionated to yield pure sulfolipid. In the sulfolipid and in a phospholipid fraction the major fatty acids were palmitic, linolenic, and linoleic, of which the palmitic acid increased in proportion during the season while the proportion of linolenic acid dropped. The sulfolipid contained more l...