Abstract
Plasma samples were collected from 477 individuals in 15 different populations. Four were in the USA, three in the UK, two in Canada, one each in Denmark, Ireland, Norway, Finland, Japan and Zimbabwe. The composition of the fatty acids in the plasma phospholipid fractions was measured by gas chromatography. With the exceptions of the n — 3 essential fatty acids, eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid, there was relatively little variation between the geographical locations in the fatty acid profiles. Fatty acids whose concentrations might have been expected to be related such as 16:0, 18:0 and 18: In — 9, or linoleic acid and its metabolites in fact showed little correlation. It is suggested that the fatty acid composition of plasma phospholipids may be regulated by homeostatic mechanisms and be only relatively weakly related to diet.
