Turnover of plasma free arachidonic and oleic acids in men and women.

The turnover of plasma free arachidonic and oleic acids was determined in healthy men and women. The plasma pool of arachidonic acid in the men was 75 per cent higher than in the women. The fractional turnover of arachidonate was 0.80 +/- 0.04 min(-1) in the women and 0.47 +/- 0.04 min(-1) in the men. The turnover rate of arachidonic acid was similar in both sexes; calculated per kg body weight it was significantly higher in the women. No sex differences were observed in the concentration or turnover of plasma free oleic acid when corrected for differences in body size. The composition of the free fatty acid fraction differed between the sexes, the female subjects having a lower proportion of saturated fatty acids and higher proportions of oleic and eicosenoic acids. The results indicate that the metabolism of polyunsaturated fatty acids in man is influenced by gonadal steroid hormones.