Genetic background has an effect on the metabolism of the essential polyunsaturated fatty acids alpha-linolenic acid and linoleic acid, a recent study from the University of Eastern Finland shows.
Supplementing the diet with camelina oil rich in alpha-linolenic acid, or with sunflower oil rich in linoleic acid altered the concentrations of the metabolites of these fatty acids in the body; however, the changes were dependent on the study participants’ FADS1 genotype. The study was conducted among carriers of two different FADS1 genotypes.
“Camelina oil increased the plasma concentration of eicosapentaenoic acid produced from alpha-linolenic acid in only one of the genotypes studied,” says Researcher and first author Topi Meuronen of the University of Eastern Finland.
Both diet and genes have been found to have an effect on the concentrations of different fatty acids in the body. The…
