Influence of linseed oil diet on the pattern of serum phospholipids in man.

We gave 11 volunteers 30 ml linseed oil daily for 4 weeks. This diet increased the amount of linolenic, eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acid in the serum phospholipids within 1 week, whereas the amount of dihomo-gamma-linolenic acid was decreased. Both effects were statistically significant. The results suggest that eicosapentaenoic acid can be synthesized from alpha-linolenic acid in human organism.