[The effect of zinc depletion on the fat content and fatty acid composition of the liver and brain in forcibly fed rats].

In the present work the influence of zinc deficiency on fat content and fatty acid composition of liver and fatty acid composition of brain of rats with a high food intake was investigated. Using the force-feeding technique the rats were fed 14.5 g food daily at days 1 to 4, and then 11.6 g food for later days. After 7 days the zinc-deficient animals had a fatty liver which was characterized by an increase in fat content (68%) and dry matter (23%). The amounts of lauric acid, myristic acid, myristoleic acid, palmitic acid, palmitoleic acid, and oleic acid were also increased by 100 to 200% in the liver of zinc-deficient animals, whereas the amount of arachidonic acid was decreased by 29%. The amounts of phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine in the liver were not changed by zinc deficiency, but the fatty acid composition of these phospholipids was changed. The liver phospholipids of zinc-deficient animals had a decreased proportion of arachidonic acid, but an increased proportion of docosahexaenoic acid. In the zinc-deficient animals there also existed a positive correlation between the fat content in the liver and the ratio between linoleic and arachidonic acid in the liver and a negative correlation between the fat content in the liver and the amount of arachidonic acid in the liver. These correlations as well as the changes in liver fatty acid composition of zinc-deficient animals suggest that the fatty liver might be the result of a disturbed metabolism of linoleic acid. In contrast, zinc deficiency did not influence the fatty acid composition of brain. This means that brain is protected against the effects of short-term zinc deficiency.