title: Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid profiling using fingertip-prick whole blood does not require overnight fasting before blood collection.
abstract: Fatty acid profiling through the rapid analysis of capillary blood collected by fingertip prick could enable economical screening for omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) status, although the typical requirement of fasting prior to sample collection may limit application. We hypothesize that moderate changes in omega-3 biomarkers determined from fingertip-prick blood will occur and correspond to omega-3 PUFA content of the meals. Eight participants consumed a single breakfast with high fat, high fat with omega-3 functional foods, and low fat and low fat with fish oil capsules in a cross-over design. The fatty acid composition of fingertip-prick blood total lipid and venous blood erythrocyte total lipid, plasma total lipid, plasma triacylglycerol, and plasma phospholipids were analyzed at baseline and 1, 2, 3 and 4 hours after each single breakfast consumption. Omega-3 blood biomarkers; % of omega-3 highly unsaturated fatty acid (HUFA) in total HUFA, weight % of eicosapentaenoic acid+docosahexaenoic acid, weight % of eicosapentaenoic acid+omega-3 docosapentaenoic acid+docosahexaenoic acid, and the ratio of total omega-6 PUFA to total omega-3 PUFA in fingertip-prick blood, did not change from baseline during the postprandial period (P > .05). However, meal type yielded lower (P < .05) % omega-3 HUFA in total HUFA in the low fat meal (22.8 ± 3.9) as compared with the low fat with omega-3 (24.2 ± 3.9) and, the high fat (23.8 ± 4) meals. The ratio of total omega-6 PUFA to total omega-3 PUFA was generally higher in meals without omega-3 compared with omega-3. In conclusion, determinations of omega-3 status by fingertip-prick blood sampling may not require prior overnight fasting.
authors.affiliation: Department of Kinesiology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Adam H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Metherel
authors.forename: Lindy M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Buzikievich
authors.forename: Payman
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Charkhzarin
authors.forename: Ashley C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Patterson
authors.forename: Alexandrea C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Peel
authors.forename: Allison M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Howorth
authors.forename: Diane M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Kishi
authors.forename: Ken D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Stark
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D062408:Breakfast; D004032:Diet; D004041:Dietary Fats / Q000097:blood*; D015118:Eicosapentaenoic Acid / Q000097:blood; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D005215:Fasting; D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3 / Q000097:blood*; D043371:Fatty Acids, Omega-6 / Q000097:blood; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated / Q000097:blood; D005385:Fingers; D006801:Humans; D009752:Nutritional Status; D010743:Phospholipids / Q000097:blood; D019518:Postprandial Period; D013048:Specimen Handling; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood; D014680:Veins / Q000378:metabolism; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D004041:Dietary Fats; D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3; D043371:Fatty Acids, Omega-6; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated; D010743:Phospholipids; D014280:Triglycerides; D015118:Eicosapentaenoic Acid; C026219:docosapentaenoic acid