The linoleic acid: Dihomo-γ-linolenic acid ratio (LA:DGLA)—an emerging biomarker of Zn status

Marija Knez; James C.R. Stangoulis; Maria Glibetic; Elad Tako

doi:10.3390/nu9080825

The linoleic acid: Dihomo-γ-linolenic acid ratio (LA:DGLA)—an emerging biomarker of Zn status

Marija Knez, James C.R. Stangoulis, Maria Glibetic, Elad Tako

College of Science and Engineering

Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review

38 Citations (Scopus)

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Abstract

Zinc (Zn) deficiency is a common aliment predicted to affect 17% of the world’s population. Zinc is a vital micronutrient used for over 300 enzymatic reactions and multiple biochemical and structural processes in the body. Although whole blood, plasma, and urine zinc decrease in severe zinc deficiency, accurate assessment of zinc status, especially in mild to moderate deficiency, is difficult as studies with these biomarkers are often contradictory and inconsistent. Hence, as suggested by the World Health Organization, sensitive and specific biological markers of zinc status are still needed. In this review, we provide evidence to demonstrate that the LA:DGLA ratio (linoleic acid:dihomo-γ-linolenic acid ratio) may be a useful additional indicator for assessing Zn status more precisely. However, this biomarker needs to be tested further in order to determine its full potential.

Original language	English
Article number	825
Number of pages	11
Journal	Nutrients
Volume	9
Issue number	8
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.3390/nu9080825
Publication status	Published - 1 Aug 2017

Bibliographical note

© 2017 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Keywords

Biomarker
Fatty acid
LA:DGLA
Zn
Zn status

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Published versionFinal published version, 915 KBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

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title = "The linoleic acid: Dihomo-γ-linolenic acid ratio (LA:DGLA)—an emerging biomarker of Zn status",

abstract = "Zinc (Zn) deficiency is a common aliment predicted to affect 17% of the world{\textquoteright}s population. Zinc is a vital micronutrient used for over 300 enzymatic reactions and multiple biochemical and structural processes in the body. Although whole blood, plasma, and urine zinc decrease in severe zinc deficiency, accurate assessment of zinc status, especially in mild to moderate deficiency, is difficult as studies with these biomarkers are often contradictory and inconsistent. Hence, as suggested by the World Health Organization, sensitive and specific biological markers of zinc status are still needed. In this review, we provide evidence to demonstrate that the LA:DGLA ratio (linoleic acid:dihomo-γ-linolenic acid ratio) may be a useful additional indicator for assessing Zn status more precisely. However, this biomarker needs to be tested further in order to determine its full potential.",

keywords = "Biomarker, Fatty acid, LA:DGLA, Zn, Zn status",

author = "Marija Knez and Stangoulis, {James C.R.} and Maria Glibetic and Elad Tako",

note = "{\textcopyright} 2017 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).",

year = "2017",

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T2 - Dihomo-γ-linolenic acid ratio (LA:DGLA)—an emerging biomarker of Zn status

AU - Knez, Marija

AU - Stangoulis, James C.R.

AU - Glibetic, Maria

AU - Tako, Elad

N1 - © 2017 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

PY - 2017/8/1

Y1 - 2017/8/1

N2 - Zinc (Zn) deficiency is a common aliment predicted to affect 17% of the world’s population. Zinc is a vital micronutrient used for over 300 enzymatic reactions and multiple biochemical and structural processes in the body. Although whole blood, plasma, and urine zinc decrease in severe zinc deficiency, accurate assessment of zinc status, especially in mild to moderate deficiency, is difficult as studies with these biomarkers are often contradictory and inconsistent. Hence, as suggested by the World Health Organization, sensitive and specific biological markers of zinc status are still needed. In this review, we provide evidence to demonstrate that the LA:DGLA ratio (linoleic acid:dihomo-γ-linolenic acid ratio) may be a useful additional indicator for assessing Zn status more precisely. However, this biomarker needs to be tested further in order to determine its full potential.

AB - Zinc (Zn) deficiency is a common aliment predicted to affect 17% of the world’s population. Zinc is a vital micronutrient used for over 300 enzymatic reactions and multiple biochemical and structural processes in the body. Although whole blood, plasma, and urine zinc decrease in severe zinc deficiency, accurate assessment of zinc status, especially in mild to moderate deficiency, is difficult as studies with these biomarkers are often contradictory and inconsistent. Hence, as suggested by the World Health Organization, sensitive and specific biological markers of zinc status are still needed. In this review, we provide evidence to demonstrate that the LA:DGLA ratio (linoleic acid:dihomo-γ-linolenic acid ratio) may be a useful additional indicator for assessing Zn status more precisely. However, this biomarker needs to be tested further in order to determine its full potential.

KW - Biomarker

KW - Fatty acid

KW - LA:DGLA

KW - Zn

KW - Zn status

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M3 - Review article

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SN - 2072-6643

VL - 9

JO - Nutrients

JF - Nutrients

IS - 8

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ER -

The linoleic acid: Dihomo-γ-linolenic acid ratio (LA:DGLA)—an emerging biomarker of Zn status

Abstract

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Keywords

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