BioTechniques (Jun 2022)

Determination of n-3 index and arachidonic acid/eicosapentaenoic acid ratio in dried blood spot by gas chromatography

  • Sawan Ali,
  • Mariano Intrieri,
  • Antonio Pisanti,
  • Gaetano Cardinale,
  • Graziamaria Corbi,
  • Giovanni Scapagnini,
  • Sergio Davinelli

DOI
https://doi.org/10.2144/btn-2021-0109
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 73, no. 1
pp. 25 – 33

Abstract

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Background: Clinical and epidemiological studies suggest that analysis of the polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) is essential to evaluate nutritional requirements and disease risk. We describe a simple, sensitive and non-invasive method for estimating the n-3 index and arachidonic acid (AA)/eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) ratio in dried blood spots (DBSs). Experimental: After obtaining DBSs on a spot card, PUFAs were transesterified (direct, acidic transesterification) and subsequently extracted with n-hexane. Gas chromatography with flame ionization detection (GC-FID) was used to analyze the extracted PUFAs, and then n-3 index and AA/EPA ratio were calculated. Method validation showed satisfactory precision and linearity. Conclusion: This analysis is simple and reliable to estimate PUFA status, and it was successfully applied to samples from 20 subjects, demonstrating its applicability.

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