Is there an advantage in enriching parenteral lipid emulsions containing fatty acids from fish oil with medium-chain triglycerides? A study on body pool concentrations of omega-3 fatty acids in Lewis rats

Abstract

Background: the addition of medium‐chain triglycerides (MCTs) into parenteral lipid emulsions rich in fatty acids from fish oil (FOLEs) has been shown to improve their clearance and extrahepatic uptake. We assessed whether this effect could favor the leukocyte uptake of ω‐3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) for immunomodulatory purposes Methods: following 5‐day adaptation in metabolic cages, 42 male Lewis rats fed with AIN‐93M chow were killed (baseline control group [BC]) or submitted to central venous catheterization and distributed into (1) surgical control group without parenteral infusion (chow group), (2) test emulsion (MCT/LCT/FO) group with the parenteral infusion of a FOLE containing 40% MCT, and (3) control emulsion group (LCT/FO) with the parenteral infusion of an FOLE without MCT. The 2 FOLEs had similar ω‐3 PUFA contents and ω‐6/ω‐3 PUFA ratios and were infused during 48 and 72 hours. Concentrations of ω‐3 and ω‐6 PUFAs in plasma, liver, and blood mononuclear and polymorphonuclear leukocytes were assessed by gas chromatography Results: in both FOLE groups, leukocyte concentrations of ω‐3 PUFAs peaked after 48 hours’ infusion (vs BC). At this time point, plasma concentrations of ω‐3 PUFAs were higher in MCT/LCT/FO group than in LCT/FO group and the opposite was found in the liver (P<.05), but no differences in PUFA concentrations were observed between these groups in leukocytes (P>.05) Conclusion: the ω‐3 PUFAs provided by FOLEs rich in MCT were less incorporated by liver and remained more available for extrahepatic cell delivery, but this did not result in a clear benefit in increasing their incorporation by peripheral leukocytes.

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ORCID for Philip Calder: orcid.org/0000-0002-6038-710X

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