Gas chromatographic profiles of plasma total lipids as indicators of dietary history. Correlation with fat intake based on 24-h dietary recall.

Fasting plasma total lipid profiles were determined by high-temperature gas chromatography on a total of 1246 free living urban subjects, ages 20-59 years, from the Toronto-McMaster Lipid Research Clinic Population Study. Quantitative estimates of the major molecular species, lipid classes and lipid class ratios were correlated with a total of twelve dietary lipid components, including total saturated and unsaturated fats. oleic and linoleic acids, and cholesterol, to give appropriate Spearman coefficients (rS) and tests of significance (P) for groups of 775 males and 471 females. The intake of the various nutrients was derived from a 24-h dietary recall. The most significant correlations varying from rs +/- 0.1-0.4 and P less than 0.0001-0.0005 were between the intake of total fat, individual saturated and unsaturated fats, and the ratios of C50/C54 triacylglycerols and the C34/C36 phosphatidylcholines, which reflected the nature and quantity of the dietary fat consumed. Increases in dietary cholesterol and saturated fat produced small increases in plasma cholesterol and saturated triacylglycerols, while unsaturated dietary fat produced small decreases in saturated and increases in unsaturated plasma triacylglycerols. These changes in the plasma lipid parameters are consistent with those observed previously in much more limited dietary experiments with accurately known composition of ingested fats. It is, therefore, concluded that direct gas chromatographic profiling of plasma total lipids provides a simple and rapid method of verifying the overall correctness of the dietary recall.