Journal of Lipid Research Volume 56, 2015 11polyunsaturated fatty acid containing two double bonds (18:2 -6), cured this defi ciency disease and, therefore, was an essential fatty acid ( 2 ). These two seminal papers are now regarded as classics in biochemistry ( 3 ), but they initially met with considerable skepticism ( 4 ). To understand why, one must appreciate the paradigm-changing nature of the discovery and the stature of the experts whose views concerning dietary fat were being challenged by Burr's fi ndings.
VIEWS ON THE ROLE OF DIETARY FAT IN THE EARLY 20th CENTURYProteins and carbohydrates were known to be indispensable dietary components by the fi rst decade of the 20th century. However, dietary fat was not considered to be essential because fatty acids were known to be synthesized from carbohydrates. The evidence concerning fat was not defi nitive due to the inability to completely extract fat from the other dietary components using the methods available in the early 1900s, and the experimental fat-free diets of that era contained traces of residual fat.Two of the most prominent physiological chemists of the early 20th century, Thomas B. Osborne of the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station and Lafayette B. Mendel of the Sheffi eld Scientifi c School at Yale University, began their studies on the role of dietary fat in 1912. Osborne and Mendel were working collaboratively in New Haven and were already recognized world-wide for their pioneering studies on dietary proteins. Their initial fi ndings indicated that rats gained weight normally when fed a fatfree food mixture, and they concluded that "true fats" are not required for growth ( 5 ). However, Osborne and Mendel were aware of the work of Wilhelm Stepp in Strasbourg, who found that a lipoid present in egg yolk was an essential nutrient for mice ( 6, 7 ). MacArthur and Luckett at the University of Illinois also reported that a lipoid extracted from egg yolk was necessary for optimum growth of mice ( 8 ).Abstract Dietary fat was recognized as a good source of energy and fat-soluble vitamins by the fi rst part of the 20th century, but fatty acids were not considered to be essential nutrients because they could be synthesized from dietary carbohydrate. This well-established view was challenged in 1929 by George and Mildred Burr who reported that dietary fatty acid was required to prevent a defi ciency disease that occurred in rats fed a fat-free diet. They concluded that fatty acids were essential nutrients and showed that linoleic acid prevented the disease and is an essential fatty acid. The Burrs surmised that other unsaturated fatty acids were essential and subsequently demonstrated that linolenic acid, the omega-3 fatty acid analog of linoleic acid, is also an essential fatty acid. The discovery of essential fatty acids was a paradigm-changing fi nding, and it is now considered to be one of the landmark discoveries in lipid research.