Effect of dietary fats on fatty acid composition of human erythrocytes and chick cerebella.

Through gas-liquid chromatography it can be shown that increasing the ingestion of linoleic acid-containing fats increases the deposition of linoleic acid in erythrocytes and in brain tissue. Such changes are probably causally related to the tocopherol requirement, the incidence of chick encephalomalacia, and the peroxide hemolysis test. Whether similar mechanisms are involved in the ability of unsaturated oils to lower serum cholesterol levels remains to be determined.