Conditionally essential omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA) play a critical role in human physiology and nutrition. Current research focuses mainly on eicosapentaenoic (EPA), docosahexaenoic (DHA) and arachidonic (ARA) acids, minor fatty acids such as all-cis-11,14-eicosanedienoic acid (C20:2 n-6), all-cis-13,16- docosadienoic acid (C22:2 n-6), all-cis-11,14,17-eicosatrienoic acid (C20:3 n-3), and all-cis-13,16,19-docosatrienoic acid (C22:3 n-3) are neglected. The most important dietary source of both LC-PUFA series is fish and krill oil or their concentrates. The distribution of minor LC-PUFA fatty acyl moieties in the krill oil is still unknown and thus, we focused on their synthesis and comprehensive analysis. In our work, we uniquely elongated commercially available linoleic acid (C18:2 n-6) and α-linolenic acids (C18:3, n-3) by 2 and 4 carbon atoms to get analytical standards of C20:2 n-6, C22:2 n-6, C20:3 n-3, C22:3 n-3 acids respectively. Three (C4) and four (C2) step elongations provided good overall yield and mild conditions minimalized isomerization/migration of all-cis double bond system. Our lipidomic approach provided deeper knowledge of the distribution of minor LC-PUFAs in triacylglycerols, glycerophospholipids as well as astaxanthin esters of commercial nutraceuticals.
MARI-003: Minor Omega-3 and Omega-6 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Krill Oil
