Time Sequence of Liver Phospholipid Alterations during Deprivation of Dietary Choline

Abstract

Liver phospholipids of rats fed a choline-deficient diet low in methionine were examined at 0, 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, and 24 days. The level of arachidonic acid in both the total phospholipids and in phosphatidylethanolamine was significantly lower in the choline-deficient group than in the choline-supplemented group by 4 days. In phosphatidylethanolamine the levels of docosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids were elevated in the deprived group within 2 days. No significant alterations in fatty acid concentrations were detected after 1 day, but low levels of phosphatidylcholine, lysophosphatidylcholine, and sphingomyelin were evident at that time. Impaired interconversions of phospholipids may be a major effect of the diet fed.