2015.06.07.

ConversionEfficiencyofALAtoDHAinHumans|Overview

CONVERSIONEFFICIENCYOFALATO
DHAINHUMANS
AdiscussionofthemetabolicpathwaybywhichdietaryALAcanbeconvertedbya
seriesofsequentialdesaturation(D)andelongation(E)reactionsintoEPAand
thenDHAinthemammalianliverwasprovidedinthemetabolismofomega3and
omega3section.Thismultistepsequenceisbrieflyoutlinedbelow:

Thepioneeringrodentstudies,reportedbyLampteyandWalkerin1976and
subsequentlysupportedinnumeroussubsequentexperimentalstudies,showed
thatomega3deprivationimpairedthelearningabilityofyounganimalsandthat
ratscouldconvertALAintoDHAforassimilationintobraintissue(membrane
phospholipidcomponents).Theserodentbasedstudieshadasignificant
influenceonofficialrecommendationsfromHealthandWelfareCanada(1990)
andtheFoodandNutritionBoard(2002)whereindietaryALAandnotDHA,the
brain/retinaomega3fattyacidforstructurefunctioning,wasrecognizedasthe
onlyessentialdietaryfattyacid.Officialrecommendedminimalintakeswere
establishedforALAforallmembersofthepopulation(youngandoldalike).
However,extensivecontrolledstudiesinhumansubjectshavenowallconsistently
confirmedtheverylimitedmetabolicconversionofdietaryALAintoDHA,thefinal
endproductofthesequentialpathway.
Acommonapproachforassessingtheapparentconversionefficiencyofdietary
ALAtothelongerchainproducts(EPAplusDHA)incontrolledhumantrialsisto
determinethenetmassriseincirculating(blood)levelsofEPAandDHAafter
increasingthedietaryintakeofALAfromfoodsources.Theearlystudiesin1993
conductedattheUniversityofManitobaincollaborationwiththeUniversityof
GuelphinCanadainvolved42dayphasesoffeedingcontrolleddietswith
markedlydifferentlevelsofomega3fattyacidasALA(alphalinolenicacid)along

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ConversionEfficiencyofALAtoDHAinHumans|Overview
withvaryingamountsofomega6fattyacidasLA(linoleicacid)andvarying
omega6:omega3ratios.WhilesomemoderatenetriseinthelevelofEPA
(eicosapentaenoicacid)wasfoundwithhigherlevelsofALAinconjunctionwith
omega6:omega3ratiosloweredto3:1nonetriseinthelevelofcirculatingDHA
wasfoundacrossthevariousfattyacidmixturesandratios.Thisearlyevidencefor
averylimitedconversionofdietaryALAintoDHAhasbeensupported
subsequentlybyothercontrolledstudiesinhumansusingmassmeasurements.
Forexample,thefeedingof10.7grams(10,700mg)ofALAfromflaxseedoilover
afourweekperiodfailedtoprovideanysignificantnetriseinthelowlevelsofDHA
presentinthebreastmilkoflactatingwomen.ItisnoteworthythatthelevelsofALA
supplementationusedinthelatterstudyfromtheOregonHealthandScience
University(byFrancoisetal.)wasapproximatelysevenfoldthatrecommendedfor
pregnantrecommendedbyHealthandWelfareCanada(1990)andbytheFood
andNutritionBoard(2002)duringpregnancy.
TheavailabilityofALAlabeledwithstableisotopes,whichavoidpotential
biologicalhazardsassociatedwiththeuseofradioisotopesinhumanstudies,has
alloweddetailedandsophisticatedinvestigationsofthemetabolicconversion
efficiencyofALAtoEPAandDHA.Thistechnologyhasbeenutilizedandreported
uponinanumberofrecentstudiesinmedicalandnutritionjournals.Theoriginal
studyusingthistechnologywasreportedfromtheU.S.DepartmentofAgriculture
in1994whereintheconversionefficiencyofALAtoDHAinyoungadultmale
subjectswasreportedtobeatthelevelofa4%efficiency,whichwouldpredictthat
25partsofdietaryALAwouldbeneededtoprovidetheequivalentrisein
circulatinglevelsofDHAwhichcouldbedeliveredbythedirectconsumptionof
onepartofDHA.TheoverallconversionefficiencyfromALAtoEPAplusDHA
combinedwasestimatedtobe12%.Itisnoteworthythattheverylimited
conversionofALAtoDHAwasalsohighlyvariablebetweentheindividual
subjectstherebyindicatingdifficultyinpredictingthoseinthepopulationwhomay
haveextremelycompromisedcapacitiesfortheconversionofALAtoDHA.
SubsequentstudiesbyPawloskyetal.(2001)usingsimilartechnologyandthat
morerecentlybyHusseinetal.(2005)showedestimatedconversionsfromALAto
DHAoflessthan0.1%andaconversiontoEPAplusDHAcombinedoflessthan
0.4%efficiencyoverall.Thelatterstudywasconductedoverafairlylengthytime
periodof12weeksinduration.Burgeeetal.fromtheU.K.hascomparedthe
apparentconversionefficiencyofALAtoDHAinyoungadultmenandwomen.
Interestingly,nodetectableformationofDHAwasfoundinthemenwhereasan
approximateconversionefficiencyfromALAtoDHAof9%wasfoundinwomen.
Theseauthorssuggestthatthegreaterfractionalconversioninwomenmaybe
dueinparttoasignificantlylowerrateofutilizationofdietaryALAforbeta
oxidationand/ortheinfluenceofestrogenorotherhormonalfactorsonthe
conversionefficiency.Insummary,theconversionefficiencyfromALAtoDHAis
verylimitedinhealthyindividualsfurthermore,theapparentinefficiencyofthe
conversionfromALAtoDHAismarkedlyvariablebetweenindividualswithin
differentsectorsofthepopulationssuchthatthelackofsufficientdietaryDHA
couldcompromiseoptimalhealthinthosewithveryminimalconversioncapacities.
Theverylowconversionefficienciesandwidevariationincapacitieslendsupport
toseriousconsiderationbeinggiventodietaryDHAasan'essential'fattyacid
and/ora'conditionallyessential'fattyaciddependingupontheconversion
capacityofindividualswithinthepopulation.

Burdge,G.C.,andCalder,P.C.Conversionofalinolenicacidtolongerchain

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polyunsaturatedfattyacidsinhumanadults.Reprod.Nutr.Dev.45:581597,
2005.
Burdge,G.C.,andWootton,S.A.Conversionofalinolenicacidto
eicosapentaenoic,docosapentaenoicanddocosahexaenoicacidsinyoung
women.Brit.J.Nutr.88:411420,2002.
Burdge,G.C.,etal.Eicosapentaenoicanddocosahexaenoicacidsarethe
principleproductsofalphalinolenicacidmetabolisminyoungmen.Brit.J.Nutr.
88:355363,2002.
Chan.J.K.,etal.Effectsofdietaryalphalinolenicacidanditsratiotolinoleicacid
onplateletandplasmafattyacidsandthrombogenesis.Lipids.28:811817,1993.
Emken,E.A.,etal.Dietarylinolenicacidinfluencesdesaturationandacylationof
deuteriumlabeledlinoleicandlinolenicacidsinyoungadultmales.Biochim.
Biophys.Acta.1213:277288,1994.
FoodandNutritionBoard,InstituteofMedicine.DietaryReferenceIntakesfor
Energy,Carbohydrate,Fiber,Fat,FattyAcids,Cholesterol,Protein,andAmino
Acids(Macronutrients).AreportofthePanelonMacronutrients,Subcommittesson
UpperReferenceLevelsofNutrientsandInterpretationandUsesofDietary
ReferenceIntakes,andtheStandingCommitteeontheScientificEvaluationof
DietaryReferenceIntakes.NationalAcademyPress,Washington,DC,2002.
Francois,C.A.,etal.Supplementinglactatingwomenwithflaxseedoildoesnot
increasedocosahexaenoicacidintheirmilk.AJCN.77:226233,2003.
Gerster,H.Canadultsadequatelyconvertalinolenicacid(18:3n3)to
eicosapentaenoicacid(20:5n3)anddocosahexaenoicacid(22:6n3)?Int.J.Vit.
Nutr.Res.68:159173,1998.
Hussein,N.,etal.Longchainconversionof[13C]linoleicacidandalinolenicacid
inresponsetomarkedchangesintheirdietaryintakeinmen.J.Lipid.Res.46:
269280,2005.
Lamptey,M.S.,andWalker,B.L.Apossibleessentialrolefordietarylinolenicacid
inthedevelopmentoftheyoungrat.J.Nutr.106(1):8693,1976.
Pawlosky,R.J.,etal.Physiologicalcompartmentalanalysisofalphalinolenic
acidmetabolisminadulthumans.J.LipidRes.42(8):12571265,2001.

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