The effect of zinc deficiency on erythrocyte membrane lipids of force-fed rats receiving a diet containing coconut oil or fish oil.

In the present study, the effect of zinc deficiency on erythrocyte membrane lipids of force-fed rats that received either a diet with coconut oil and safflower oil (86:14, w/w) or a diet with fish oil and safflower oil (91:9, w/w) was investigated. Zinc deficiency caused in the rats fed both types of dietary fat an increase in the amounts of total phospholipids and individual phospholipid classes in erythrocyte membranes. In the rats fed the coconut oil diet, zinc deficiency caused an increase in the proportion of docosahexaenoic acid (22:6) in phosphatidylcholine (PC), diacyl phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), phosphatidylserine (PS), and in total erythrocyte membrane fatty acids. In contrast, in the rats fed the fish oil diet, zinc deficiency caused an increase in the proportion of docosahexaenoic acid only in PC, but not in the other phospholipids. However, in these rats, changes in the ratio between eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5) and the n-3 fatty acids with 20 and 22 carbon atoms were observed in PC, diacyl PE and plasmalogen PE. The most pronounced changes in fatty acid composition due to zinc deficiency in the rats fed both types of fat occurred in PC. There was a relationship between the changes in the composition of plasma total fatty acids and the changes in fatty acid composition of erythrocyte membrane PC caused by zinc deficiency in the rats fed both types of dietary fat. The amount of cholesterol was similar in all treatment groups. However, zinc-deficient rats fed the coconut oil diet-but not those fed the fish oil diet-had an increased ratio between total phospholipids and cholesterol. Thus, the study shows that the effect of zinc deficiency on erythrocyte membrane lipids is to some degree similar for rats fed a coconut oil diet and rats fed a fish oil diet, and to some degree different.