Fatty acids of the milk and food of the platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus).

Platypus milk fat contains 98.5% triglyceride. Polyunsaturates (C18∶2-C22∶5) account for 29% of the triglyceride fatty acids in the milk fat and 32% of the total fatty acids in the lipid of the food of the platypus. Linoleate and arachidonate are the major ω6 polyunsaturates of both food and milk lipids. However, while the ω3 polyunsaturates linolenate and eicosapentaenoate are present in both food and milk, docosapentaenoate is present in meaningful amounts in milk only. It is suggested that with the exception of 22∶5ω3, the polyunsaturates in platypus milk originate in the diet.