Abstract
The lipid composition of submandibular salivary glands (SMSG) of weanling rats fed a choline-deficient diet or a control diet for 16 days was investigated. The levels of eicostrienoic (20:3) and arachidonic (20:4) acid in the total lipids of the SMSG were reduced in the deficient rats. Similarly, there were changes in the fatty acid composition of triglycerides (TG), free fatty acids (FFA), phosphatidyl choline (PC), phosphatidyl ethanolamine (PE) and phosphatidyl serine (PS) + phosphatidyl inositol (PI) fractions. The proportion of PE fraction in the SMSG lipids was significantly higher in the rats fed the choline-deficient diet as compared with that of the controls; the proportions of PC and PI + PS fractions were not changed. Consequently,
PC
PE
ratios were lower in SMSG lipids of rats fed the choline-deficient diet as compared with those fed the choline-supplemented diet.