American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol 9, 13-23, Copyright © 1961 by The American Society for Clinical Nutrition, Inc.

Fatty Acid Distributions in Serum Lipids and Serum Lipoproteins

¹ From the Donner Laboratory of Medical Physics, Division of Medical Physics, Department of Physics and the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, California

Gas-liquid chromatographic studies of each of the principal fatty acid-containing serum lipid fractions (cholesteryl esters, glycerides, unesterified fatty acids and phospholipids) reveal a relatively characteristic fatty acid pattern. Some variability, particularly in the cholesteryl ester fatty acid distribution, exists from person to person. In any given subject, the principal fatty acid-containing lipid fractions isolated from each of the major serum lipoprotein classes appear similar with one exception. Our preliminary data suggest the cholesteryl ester fraction of the s_f° 20-10⁵ lipoproteins contain a higher content of oleic and palmitic acid as well as a lower content of linoleic acid relative to the cholesteryl ester fractions obtained from the s_f° 0-20 and HDL-2 and 3 lipoprotein classes.