Early and sustained enrichment of serum n-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in dogs fed a flaxseed supplemented diet.

A study was conducted in dogs to assess n-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acid incorporation after feeding an alpha-linolenic (ALA)-rich flaxseed supplemented diet (FLX) for 84 days. Serum total phospholipids (PL), triacylglycerol (TG), and cholesteryl esters (CE) were isolated at selected times and fatty acid methyl esters were analyzed. Increased LA was seen in the FLX-PL fraction after 28 days and an expected decrease in PL-AA.