Abstract
Blubbers of four ringed seal subspecies from Lake Saimaa, Lake Ladoga, the Baltic Sea, and Spitsbergen were analyzed for very long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (VLCPUFA; >C22) using gas-liquid chromatography and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. The VLCPUFA of the blubber oils were mainly n−3 polyunsaturated fatty acids—23∶5n−3, 24∶3n−3, 24∶4n−3, 24∶5n−3, 24∶6n−3, 26∶5n−3, 26∶6n−3, and 28∶7n−3. The largest VLCPUFA components in all populations were 24∶5n−3 (0.1–0.2 wt% of total fatty acids) and 24∶6n−3 (0.1%), but 24∶4n−3 (0.1%) was also prominent in the Baltic specimens. The blubber oils of the freshwater species contained considerably more 24∶4n−6 and 24∶5n−6 than the blubbers of the marine species. The differences among the VLCPUFA in these subspecies appear to be mainly due to different dietary VLCPUFA.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
Abbreviations
- GC/MS:
-
gas chromatography/mass spectrometry
- PUFA:
-
polyunsaturated fatty acids
- VLCPUFA:
-
very long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids
References
Rezanka, T. (1989) Very-Long Chain Fatty Acids from the Animal and Plant Kingdoms,Prog. Lipid Res. 28, 147–187.
Vysotskii, M.V., and Svetashev, V.I. (1991) Identification, Isolation and Characterization of Tetracosapolyenoic Acids in Lipids of Marine Coelenterates,Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1083, 161–165.
Dembitsky, V.M., Rezanka, T., and Kashin, A.G. (1993) Comparative Study of the Endemic Freshwater Fauna of Lake Baikal-II. Unusual Lipid Composition of Two Sponge SpeciesBaicalospongia bacillifera andBaicalospongia intermedia (Family Lubomirskiidae, Class Demospongiae),Comp. Biochem. Physiol. 106 B, 825–831.
Dembitsky, V.M., Rezanka, T., and Kashin, A.G. (1994) Phospholipid and Fatty Acid Compositions of the Endemic Amphipod CrustaceanIssycogammarus bergi from the Brackish Mountain Lake Issyk-Kul (Tian Shan, Middle Asia),Comp. Biochem. Physiol. 107 B, 331–336.
Linko, R.R., and Karinkanta, H. (1970) Fatty Acids of Long Chain Length in Baltic Herring Lipids,J. Am. Oil Chem. Soc. 47, 42–46.
Rezanka, T. (1990) Analysis of Very Long Chain Polyenoic Fatty Acids by High Performance Liquid Chromatography and Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry with Chemical Ionization,LC-GC Intl. 3, 46–49.
Ota, T., Kawabata, Y., and Ando, Y. (1994) Positional Distribution of 24∶6(n−3) in Triacyl-sn-Glycerols from Flathead Flounder Liver and Flesh,J. Am. Oil Chem. Soc. 71, 475–478.
Ackman, R.G., and Hooper, S.N. (1974) Long Chain Monoethylenic and Other Fatty Acids in Heart, Liver, and Blubber Lipids of Two Harbor Seals (Phoca Vitulina) and One Grey Seal (Halichoerus grypus)J. Fish. Res. Board Can. 31, 333–341.
West, G.C., Burns, J.J., and Modafferi, M. (1979) Fatty Acid Composition of Blubber from the Four Species of Bering Sea Phocid Seals,Can. J. Zool. 57, 189–195.
Käkelä, R., Hyvärinen, H., and Vainiotalo, P. (1993) Fatty Acid Composition in Liver and Blubber of the Saimaa Ringed Seal (Phoca hispida saimensis) Compared with That of the Ringed Seal (Phoca hispida botnica) and Grey Seal (Halichoerus grypus) from the Baltic,Comp. Biochem. Physiol. 105 B, 553–565.
Ackman, R.G. (1988) Some Possible Effects on Lipid Biochemistry of Differences in the Distribution on Glycerol of Long-Chain n−3 Fatty Acids in the Fats of Marine Fish and Marine Mammals,Atherosclerosis 70, 171–173.
Sprecher, H. (1992) A Reevaluation of the Pathway for the Biosynthesis of 4,7,10,13,16,19-Docosahexaenoic Acid,Omega 3 News 7, 1–3.
Aveldaño, M.I., Robinson, B.S., Johnson, D.W., and Poulos, A. (1993) Long and Very Long Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids of then−6 Series in Rat Seminiferous Tubules,J. Biol. Chem. 268, 11663–11669.
Ackman, R.G. (1967) Characteristics of the Fatty Acid Composition and Biochemistry of Some Fresh-Water Fish Oils and Lipids in Comparison with Marine Oils and Lipids,Comp. Biochem. Physiol. 22, 907–922.
Muje, P., Ågren, J.J., Lindqvist, O.V., and Hänninen, O. (1989) Fatty Acid Composition of Vendace (Coregonus albula L.) Muscle and Its Plankton Feed,Comp. Biochem. Physiol. 92 B, 75–79.
Linko, R.R., Rajasilta, M., and Hiltunen, R. (1992) Comparison of Lipid and Fatty Acid Composition in Vendace (Coregonus albula L.) and Available Plankton Feed,Comp. Biochem. Physiol. 103 A, 205–212.
Ozawa, A., Satake, M., and Fujita, T. (1993) Comparison of Muscle Lipid Composition between Marine and Landlocked Forms of Sockeye Salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka),Comp. Biochem. Physiol. 106 B, 513–516.
Ahlgren, G., Blomqvist, P., Boberg, M., and Gustafsson, I.-B. (1994) Fatty Acid Content of the Dorsal Muscle—an Indicator of Fat Quality in Freshwater Fish,J. Fish Biol. 45, 131–157.
Ratnayake, W.M.N., Olsson, B., Matthews, D., and Ackman, R.G. (1988) Preparation of Omega-3 PUFA Concentrates from Fish Oils via Urea Complexation,Fat Sci. Technol. 90, 381–386.
Ackman, R.G. (1992) Application of Gas-Liquid Chromatography to Lipid Separation and Analysis: Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis, inFatty Acids in Foods and Their Health Implications (Chow, C.K., ed.), pp. 47–63, Marcel Dekker, New York.
Ackman, R.G. (1972) The Analysis of Fatty Acids and Related Materials by Gas-Liquid Chromatography, inProgress in the Chemistry of Fats and Other Lipids (Holman, R.T., ed.) Vol. 12, pp. 165–284, Pergamon Press, Oxford.
Fellenberg, A.J., Johnson, D.W., Poulos, A., and Sharp, P. (1987) Simple Mass Spectrometric Differentiation of the n−3, n−6 and n−9 Series of Methylene Interrupted Polyenoic Acids,Biomed. Environ. Mass Spectrom. 14, 127–129.
Sokal, R.R., and Rohlf, F.J. (1981)Biometry, 2nd edn., pp. 427–428, W. H. Freeman and Company, San Francisco.
Ackman, R.G. (1994) α-Linolenic Acid in Human Adipose Tissue,Lipids 29, 445.
Shantha, N.C., and Ackman, R.G. (1991) Behaviour of a Common Phthalate Plasticizer (Dioctyl Phthalate) During the Alkaliand/or Acid-Catalyzed Steps in an AOCS Method for the Preparation of Methyl Esters,J. Chromatogr. 587, 263–267.
Ackman, R.G., Sebedio, J.-L., and Kovacs, M.I.P. (1980) Role of Eicosenoic and Docosenoic Fatty Acids in Freshwater and Marine Lipids,Mar. Chem. 9, 157–164.
Rezanka, T. (1990) Identification of Very Long Polyenoic Acids as Picolinyl Esters by AG+ Ion-Exchange High-Performance Liquid Chromatography, Reversed-Phase High Performance Liquid Chromatography and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry,J. Chromatogr. 513, 344–348.
Voss, A., Reinhart, M., Sankarappa, S., and Sprecher, H. (1991) The Metabolism of 7,10,13,16,19-Docosapentaenoic Acid to 4,7,10,13,16,19-Docosahexaenoic Acid in Rat Liver Is Independent of a 4-Desaturase,J. Biol. Chem. 266, 19995–20000.
Mayzaud, P., and Ackman, R.G. (1978) The 6,9,12,15,18-Heneicosapentaenoic Acid of Seal Oil,Lipids 13, 24–28.
Poulos, A. (1995) Very Long Chain Fatty Acids in Higher Animals—A Review,Lipids 30, 1–14.
Grogan, W.M. (1984) Metabolism of Arachidonate in Rat Testis: Characterization of 26–30 Carbon Polyenoic Acids,Lipids 19, 341–346.
Poulos, A., Sharp, P., Johnson, D., White, I., and Fellenberg, A. (1986) The Occurrence of Polyenoic Fatty Acids with Greater than 22 Carbon Atoms in Mammalian Spermatozoa,Biochem. J. 240, 891–895.
Poulos, A., Johnson, D.W., Beckman, K., White, I.G., and Easton, C. (1987) Occurrence of Unusual Molecular Species of Sphingomyelin Containing 28–34-Carbon Polyenoic Fatty Acids in Ram Spermatozoa,Biochem. J. 248, 961–964.
Poulos, A., Sharp, P., Johnson, D., and Easton, C. (1988) The Occurrence of Polyenoic Very Long Chain Fatty Acids with Greater Than 32 Carbon Atoms in Molecular Species of Phosphatidylcholine in Normal and Peroxisome-Deficient (Zellweger's Syndrome) Brain,Biochem. J. 253, 645–650.
Sharp, P., Johnson, D., and Poulos, A. (1991) Molecular Species of Phosphatidylcholine Containing Very Long Chain Fatty Acids in Human Brain: Enrichment in X-Linked Adrenoleukodystrophy Brain and Diseases of Peroxisome Biogenesis Brain,J. Neurochem. 56, 30–37.
Aveldaño, M.I. (1987) A Novel Group of Very Long Chain Polyenoic Fatty Acids in Dipolyunsaturated Phosphatidylcholines from Vertebrate Retina,J. Biol. Chem. 262, 1172–1179.
Aveldaño, M.I., and Sprecher, H. (1987) Very Long Chain (C24 to C36) Polyenoic Fatty Acids of the n−3 and n−6 Series in Dipolyunsaturated Phosphatidylcholines from Bovine Retina,J. Biol. Chem. 262, 1180–1186.
Aveldaño, M.I. (1988) Phospholipid Species Containing Long and Very Long Polyenoic Fatty Acids Remain with Rhodopsin After Hexane Extraction of Photoreceptor Membranes,Biochemistry 27, 1229–1239.
Rotstein, N.P., and Aveldaño, M.I. (1988) Synthesis of Very Long Chain (up to 36 Carbon) Tetra, Penta and Hexaenoic Fatty Acids in Retina,Biochem. J. 249, 191–200.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
About this article
Cite this article
Käkelä, R., Ackman, R.G. & Hyvärinen, H. Very long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in the blubber of ringed seals (Phoca hispida sp.) from Lake Saimaa, Lake Ladoga, the Baltic Sea, and Spitsbergen. Lipids 30, 725–731 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02537799
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02537799