Body Lipids of Guinea Pigs Exposed to Different Dietary Fats from Mid-Gestation to 3 Months of Age

Pregnant guinea pigs were fed one of three diets: a 'control' low-fat diet, or a high-fat diet containing maize oil or beef dripping. Offspring were reared on the same diet as their mothers and when they were 3 months old, fatty acid compositions of the lipids of the adipose tissue, blood plasma, liver and muscle were analysed. The proportion of linoleic acid was elevated in both the storage triglycerides and the tissue phosphoglycerides of animals fed 'maize' diet whereas in the 'beef' group the proportion of oleic acid was significantly elevated compared with controls. A substantial part of these diet-induced changes in tissue fatty acid composition had occurred by the time animal was born; only minor changes took place in the subsequent 3 months of feeding.