Dietary intakes and food sources of n−6 and n−3 PUFA in french adult men and women

Abstract

The intake of individual n-6 and n-3 PUFA has been estimated in 4,884 adult subjects (2,099 men and 2,785 women), volunteers from the French SU.VI.MAX intervention trial. The food intakes of each subject were recorded in at least ten 24-h record questionnaires completed over a period of 2.5 yr, allowing the estimation of the daily intake of energy; total fat; and linoleic, alpha-linolenic, arachidonic, eicosapentaenoic (EPA), n-3 docosapentaenoic (DPA), and docosahexaenoic (DHA) acids. The mean total fat intake corresponded to 94.1 g/d (36.3% of total energy intake) in men and 73.4 g/d (38.1% of energy) in women. The intake of linoleic acid was 10.6 g/d in men and 8.1 g/d in women, representing 4.2% of energy intake; that of alpha-linolenic acid was 0.94 g/d in men and 0.74 g/d in women, representing 0.37% of energy intake, with a mean linoleic/alpha-linolenic acid ratio of 11.3. The mean intakes of long-chain PUFA were: arachidonic acid, 204 mg/d in men and 152 mg/d in women; EPA, 150 mg/d in men and 118 mg/d in women; DPA, 75 mg/d in men and 56 mg/d in women; DHA, 273 mg/d in men and 226 mg/d in women; long-chain n-3 PUFA, 497 mg/d in men and 400 mg/d in women. Ninety-five percent of the sample consumed less than 0.5% of energy as alpha-linolenic acid, which is well below the current French recommendation for adults (0.8% of energy). In contrast, the mean intakes of long-chain n-6 and n-3 PUFA appear fairly high and fit the current French recommendations (total long-chain PUFA: 500 mg/d in men and 400 mg/d in women; DHA: 120 mg/d in men and 100 mg/d in women). The intakes of alpha-linolenic acid, and to a lesser extent of linoleic acid, were highly correlated with that of lipids. Whereas the main source of linoleic acid was vegetable oils, all food types contributed to alpha-linolenic acid intake, the main ones being animal products (meat, poultry, and dairy products). The main source of EPA and DHA (and of total long-chain n-3 PUFA) was fish and seafood, but the major source of DPA was meat, poultry, and eggs. Fish and seafood consumption showed very large interindividual variations, the low consumers being at risk of insufficient n-3 PUFA intake.

Plasma n-6 and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids as biomarkers of their dietary intakes: a cross-sectional study within a cohort of middle-aged French men and women

“…Our sample is characterized by a high linoleic acid intake (about 5% of total energy intake) and a low a-linolenic acid intake (about 0.4% of energy) and a high linoleic/a-linolenic ratio (about 13). These values of lipid and PUFA intakes are very similar to those found in a larger sample from the same cohort (Astorg et al, 2004).…”

“…The mean n-6 and n-3 PUFA percentages in plasma lipids are influenced by the mean intake of the population studied. Thus, the plasma level of a-linolenic acid in our sample (0.5-0.6%) is lower than that found in Japan (0.8-0.9%) (Kuriki et al, 2002(Kuriki et al, , 2003 or in United Kingdom (1.3-1.4%) (Rosell et al, 2005), reflecting the low a-linolenic acid intake of the French population (Astorg et al, 2004). At variance, the plasma linoleic acid levels reach values (30-35% of fatty acids) comparable to those found in United Kingdom (Rosell et al, 2005), Norway (Andersen et al, 1999), Japan (Kuriki et al, 2002(Kuriki et al, , 2003 or Costa-Rica (Kuriki et al, 2003;Baylin et al, 2005), reflecting the high intakes of linoleic acid in most world countries (4-6% of energy) (Simopoulos, 2002).…”

“…In our study, the plasma levels of EPA and DHA are correlated with the intakes of fatty fish, as well as with the intakes of total fish and of total fish and seafood, but not with the intakes of lean fish or of seafood. This clearly results of the fact that fatty fish is the main contributor to the intake of EPA (44.1% of the intake) and of DHA (41.1% ) (Astorg et al, 2004). Fatty fish intake was found to vary widely across quintiles of intakes of long-chain n-3 fatty acids: from 1.7 (in men) or 0.9 g/day (in women) in the first quintile to 36.3 or 31.1 g/day, respectively, in the fifth quintile (Astorg et al, 2004).…”

“…The questionnaire also included questions on the type of oil or fat used for seasoning or cooking. Other details on 24-h dietary records have been published previously (Hercberg et al, 1998;Astorg et al, 2004).…”

“…Plasma, erythrocytes or adipose tissue fatty acids have often been used in this purpose. In a previous study (Astorg et al, 2004), we have estimated the intakes of individual n-6 and n-3 PUFA in participants of the SU.VI.MAX cohort, the food consumption in whom has been measured by repeated 24-h records. In the present study, we have assessed the relationships between the intakes of the main dietary PUFA of the n-6 series (linoleic and arachidonic acids) and of the n-3 series (a-linolenic acid, EPA, DPA and DHA) and their levels in plasma total lipids in a subsample of this cohort.…”