Project Number: 5306-51530-019-59
Project Type: Reimbursable

Start Date: Oct 01, 2012
End Date: Sep 30, 2013

Objective:
The immediate aim of this project is to catalog the types, amount and distribution of ALA oxylipins in human plasma lipoproteins. The longer-term goal is to lay a foundation for answering the question, “What are the metabolic effects of ALA itself, independent of conversion to EPA/DHA?”

Approach:
Samples will be analyzed from 20 subjects before and after eating walnuts (40 g/d) for 4 weeks. We would measure the ALA oxylipin content of the following 5 fractions: fasting plasma, VLDL, LDL and HDL, and postprandial VLDL+Chylomicrons. The goal is to have oxylipin data available for each measurement of endothelial function. We will test the hypothesis that ALA oxylipins are directly associated with an improvement in flow mediated dilation.