Know more about the metabolism of Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids

Fatty acids are found in animal and plant lipids commonly consumed and almost all of them can be synthetized de novo by the liver. Almost all of them… but certainly not linoleic and a-linolenic acids that are considered essential as these fatty acids cannot be made by the human body.

Linoleic and a-linolenic acids are the precursors of long-chain polyunsatured fatty acids from the Omega-6 fatty acid series, respectively. 

The Omega-6 fatty acid series start with the conversion of the essential fatty acid linoleic acid (LA) into g-linolenic acid (GLA) by formation of a double bond between the carbons 6 and 7. GLA is the precursor of di-homo g-linolenic acid (DGLA) which can be metabolized to form anti-inflammatory prostaglandins (pge1 and pgf1a) and thromboxane (txa1). The end metabolite of the n-6 or w6 series is arachidonic acid (ARA) which is generated by desaturation of carbons 5 and 6 of DGLA. Arachidonic acid (ARA) serves as a precursor of several eicosanoids including prostaglandins (pgd2, pge2, pgf2a), prostacyclin pgi2, thromboxane txa2 and leukotrienes (lta4, ltb4, ltc4, ltd4 and lte4) which are involved in the mediation of the inflammatory responses. 

The Omega-3 fatty acid series start with the conversion of a-linolenic acid (ALA) into stearidonic acid (SDA) by formation of a double bond between the carbons 6 and 7. SDA is the precursor of n-3 eicosatetraenoic acid which is converted into eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) by desaturation of carbons 5 and 6. EPA can be metabolized to form anti-inflammatory prostaglandins (pge3, pgd3, pgf3a), thromboxane txa3, prostacyclin pgi3 and leukotrienes (lta5, ltb5, ltc5 and ltd5). Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), the end metabolite of the n-3 or w3 series, is formed from EPA after 2 consecutive elongation steps followed by the desaturation of carbons 6 and 7 of n-3 tetracosahexaenoic acid and a partial beta-oxidation step.

How to assess your patient fatty acids profile?

The analysis of the concentration of fatty acids and lipid soluble vitamins is becoming globally available and is a standard practice to assess baseline condition and monitor the progress and impact of special dietetic program.

The fatty acids status can be assessed by analyzing the fatty acid profile of the plasma, serum, whole blood or erythrocytes. In the plasma, fatty acids are mainly found in lipoproteins and therefore their analysis provide a good indication of the quality of the dietary lipids consumed as well as their metabolism. 

The analysis of the fatty acids in erythrocytes or whole blood (i.e. using conventional or Dried Blood Spot (DBS) sampling methodology) also provides good insight on the metabolism and tissue accretion of fatty acids. These methods are relevant and complementary to the analysis of the plasma fatty acids.


How we define personal recommendation?

Defining a personal recommendation starts with the baseline evaluation of the fatty acid status in circulatory lipids, which is performed in a medical laboratory. Upon request from the physician, we are analyzing the dataset to recommend the consumption of a certain dose of a specific fatty acid formulation to reach the objective of normalizing the fatty acid status through nutrition.

The parameters processed include:
The concentration of the different fatty acids including g-linolenic acid (GLA), arachidonic acid (ARA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)
The ratio of Omega-6 to Omega-3 fatty acids

After a follow-up visit, generally every 3-6 months, the evaluation of the fatty acid status in circulatory lipids is re-assessed and a new recommendation is provided to the health care practitioner if needed.

Patient data are coded in compliance with data privacy regulations (GDPR).