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Updated: Aug 8, 2026

Dietary Supplementation of Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Caenorhabditis elegans
Published on: November 29, 2013
Essential fatty acid deficiency induced by total parenteral nutrition and by medium-chain triglyceride feeding
Abstract:
In hospitalized infants receiving either prolonged total parenteral nutrition without fat or a formula of medium-chain triglyceride, the fatty acid composition of platelet, red blood cell, and plasma lipids was determined. The results showed that the changes in the fatty acid composition occurred not only in plasma but also in platelets and red blood cells, and the decrease in linoleic and arachidonic acid and the concurrent increase in 5,8,11-eicosatrienoic acid were confirmed to be dramatic evidence of essential fatty acid deficiency. There was no effect of essential fatty acid deficiency upon the phospholipid distribution in red blood cells or plasma.
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