Effects of non-methylene-interrupted polyunsaturated fatty acid, sciadonic (all-cis-5,11,14-eicosatrienoic acid) on lipid metabolism in rats.

We investigated effects of the non-methylene-interrupted polyunsaturated fatty acid, sciadonic acid (all-cis-5,11,14-eicosatrienoic acid), on the lipid metabolism in rats, to identify the mechanism for the plasma and hepatic triacylglycerol-lowering effects of Japanese torreya (Torreya nucifera) seed oil. Sciadonic acid was isolated from torreya seed oil by the combination of urea-adduct with lipase-esterification. Sprague-Dawley (SD) male rats were fed with experimental diets containing 5% and 10% sciadonic acid based on corn oil for 2 weeks. The serum and liver triacylglycerol levels were lower in the rats fed with sciadonic acid. Considerable amounts of sciadonic acid were detected in the triacylglycerol and phospholipid in both the serum and liver of the rats fed with sciadonic acid. These observations demonstrate that sciadonic acid could modify the lipid metabolism in rats.