Relationships between levels of essential fatty acids and zinc in plasma of cystic fibrosis patients.

Possible relationships between zinc and essential fatty acid metabolism have been assessed using plasma samples obtained from 39 cystic fibrosis patients. The fatty acid composition of plasma phospholipids was analyzed by capillary gas liquid chromatography and zinc levels were measured by atomic absorption spectrometry. Computer analyses revealed positive correlations between zinc levels and (a) arachidonic acid (p less than 0.001), (b) the arachidonate/linoleate ratio (p less than 0.02), and (c) eicosatrienoic acid (n-6) (p less than 0.001). These observations suggest that conversion of linoleate to arachidonate may be modulated by zinc.