[Identification of an atypical polyunsaturated fatty acid present in the liver of rats after the ingestion of heated linseed oil].

A C20:5 fatty acid with a trans delta 17 ethylenic bond was identified in liver lipids of rats fed with heated linseed oil. This component was isolated using a combination of high performance liquid chromatography on a reverse phase column and AgNO3 thin layer chromatography (TLC). This fatty acid was identified after hydrazine reduction, methoxy-bromomercuric adducts fractionation, AgNO3-TLC and ozonolysis in BF3-MeOH. It could be a metabolite of one trans isomeric linolenic acid formed during the heat treatment of linseed oil.