Characterization of the lipid and fatty acid composition of rat caecal mucosa: effect of intestinal resection.

The lipid composition and the fatty acid profile of the lipid fraction (phospholipid, triacylglycerol, diacylglycerol and cholesterol ester) of the caecum were studies 6 weeks after both 50% and 75% distal small bowel resection (DSBR). Triacylglycerol (TG) and cholesterol ester (CE) levels were decreased after resection but the total phospholipid (PL), free cholesterol (FC), and diacylglycerol (DG) contents were not significantly modified after the operation. Different fatty acid changes in the caecum lipid fractions were found after the surgical operation, with the greatest differences after 75% DSBR. Saturated fatty acids were increased in PL, TG and CE fractions as a consequence of DSBR. Similarly, these fractions presented the lowest amounts of n-6 and polyunsaturated fatty acids after resection. On the contrary, the levels of saturated fatty acids was decreased and both n-6 and polyunsaturated fatty acid levels increased in the DG fraction of resected animals. These results are discussed in terms of adaptation to intestinal resection.