title: Effect of storage temperature in a Cambodian field setting on the fatty acid composition in whole blood.
abstract: Fatty acid analysis requires standardized collection and storage of samples, which can be a challenge under field conditions. This study describes the effect of storage temperature on fatty acid composition in two sets of whole blood samples collected from 66 children in a rural area in Cambodia. The samples were stored with butylated hydroxytoluene at -20 °C and -80 °C and the latter required extra transfers due to storage facility limitation. Fatty acid composition was analyzed by high-throughput gas-chromatography and evaluated by paired t-tests and Bland-Altman plots. Total amounts of fat in -20 °C and -80 °C samples did not differ, but there was relatively more highly unsaturated fatty acids (15.8 ± 2.7 vs. 14.4 ± 2.5%, p < 0.001) and a lower n-6/n-3 ratio (6.4 ± 1.4 vs. 6.9 ± 1.4, p < 0.001) in the -20 °C samples. Our results indicate that the importance of storage temperature should be evaluated in the context of storage facility availability and risk of temperature fluctuations during transport.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nurhasan
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Roos
authors.affiliation: Department of Kinesiology, University of Waterloo, Canada.
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Aristizabal Henao
authors.affiliation: Department of Fisheries Post-harvest Technologies and Quality Control, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Kingdom of Cambodia.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chamnan
authors.affiliation: Department of Kinesiology, University of Waterloo, Canada.
authors.forename: K D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Stark
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, University of Copenhagen, Denmark. Electronic address: ll@nexs.ku.dk.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lauritzen
mesh_terms: D001793:Blood Preservation / Q000379:methods*; D002160:Cambodia; D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3 / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3
keywords: Cambodia; Developing country; Polyunsaturated fatty acids; Storage temperature; Whole blood