Abstract
IN 1954 we put forward a hypothesis1 that the trans-acids content of the depot fats of ruminants may be explained by the hydrogenation of the dietary fatty acids from pasture effected by the rumen bacteria. No trans-acids were detected in pasture-fed non-ruminants and the small amounts of these acids found in the pig were attributed to the skim-milk diet. This hypothesis was afterwards elaborated in a more detailed report2. Recently Kühn and Lück3 extended this investigation to the depot fats of other non-ruminants, and whereas no appreciable amounts of trans-acids were detected in most of the species examined, 4–6.3 per cent trans-acids were found by them in the domestic cat and 3–4 per cent in the human fat. The last two results are according to them difficult to reconcile with the hypothesis that the occurrence of trans-acids is confined to the fats of ruminants only.
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References
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Hartman, L., Shorland, F. B., and McDonald, I. R. C., Biochem. J., 61, 603 (1955).
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HARTMAN, L., SHORLAND, F. Trans-Unsaturated Acids in the Depot Fats of Ruminants and Non-Ruminants. Nature 184, 2024 (1959). https://doi.org/10.1038/1842024a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/1842024a0
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