Fatty acid and aldehyde composition of individual phospholipid classes of rabbit skeletal muscles is related to the metabolic type of the fibre.

The fatty acid composition of individual phospholipid classes as related to metabolic type of fibre in the rabbit was studied. The fatty acid composition of the individual phospholipid classes of five muscles were compared: two glycolytic ones (Longissimus lumborum and Psoas major), two oxidative ones (Soleus and Semimembranosus propriosus,) and an intermediate one (Gastrocnemius laterale). It was shown that except for phosphatidyl inositol (PI), the fatty acid compositions of the main phospholipid classes were strongly related to the metabolic type of the fibres; phosphatidyl ethanolamine (PE) of oxidative muscles contains less 18:2 n-6 and more 18:0 and long chain PUFA of the n-6 and n-3 series than that of glycolytic ones; phosphatidyl choline (PC) of oxidative muscles contains more 18:0 and less 16:0 and 18:2 n-6 than that of glycolytic ones; cardiolipin of the oxidative muscles contains less 18:2 n-6 than those of the glycolytic ones. These differences in fatty acid composition of PE, PC and cardiolipin explain a large part of the differences in fatty acid compositions of the total phospholipids of glycolytic and oxidative muscles.