Injection of tridocosahexaenoyl-glycerol emulsion and fatty acid composition of blood cells.

An injectable emulsion of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) was prepared. One hundred ml of the emulsion contained 3 g of 93%-pure 1,2,3-tridocosahexaenoylglycerol (DHA-TG), 1.2 g of 93%-pure 2-docosahexaenoyl-phosphatidylcholine as an emulsifier and 2.5 g of glycerol. Thirty ml of the emulsion of DHA-TG was injected into three rabbits on days 1 and 4 of the study. Blood was taken on day 0, on day 4 just before the second injection and on day 7. The percentage of DHA in the total phospholipid fraction of platelets increased from 0.46% (day 0) to 1.88% (day 4, p less than 0.05) and 3.66% (day 7; p less than 0.02 vs day 0). The percentage of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) increased from 0.46% (day 0) to 1.03% (day 4, p less than 0.02) and 1.63% (day 7: p less than 0.05 vs day 0). The percentage of arachidonic acid (AA) decreased from 9.45% (day 0) to 4.31% (day 4, p less than 0.05) and 6.68% (day 7; p less than 0.02 vs day 0). The percentage of DHA in the total phospholipid fraction of erythrocyte membranes increased from 0.23% (day 0) to 0.91% (day 4, p less than 0.05) and 1.52% (day 7; p less than 0.005 vs day 0); that of EPA increased from 0.21% (day 0) to 0.34% (day 4, p less than 0.005%) and 0.52% (day 7, p less than 0.01 vs day 0); that of AA was unchanged. Blood lipids were the same before and after the two injections of the emulsion, except that free fatty acids decreased markedly from 0.32 to 0.06 mEq/1 (p less than 0.02).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)