Development of a methodology using GC-FID for the quantitativo analysis of fatty acids from red blood cells

In the last years, there has been an increasing interest in evaluating possible relations between fatty acid patterns and the risk for chronic diseases. Currently, it is generally accepted that higher intakes of saturated and trans fatty acids are related with dyslipidemia and increased risk for cardiovascular diseases, while the consumption of polyunsaturated fatty acids, especially omega-3, has been positively associated with several health benefits. So far, most studies concerning the analysis of blood fatty acids (FA) composition have been performed using plasma or serum, with red blood cells (RBCs) usually being discarded [l]. However, because of the long half-life (120 days) of these cells, the FA profile of RBCs membrane may reflect longer-term markers of nutritional intake compared with plasma or urine [l].
This work received financiai support from the European Union (FEDER funds through COMPETE) and National Funds (FCT, Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia) through project projetos PTDC/SAU-ENB/116929/2010 andEXPL/EMS-SIS/2215/2013

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