Different n-6/n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid ratios affect postprandial metabolism in normal and hypertriglyceridemic rats

Postprandial metabolism plays major roles in many pathological conditions. The n-6/n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) ratio is closely related to various physiological disorders. This study aimed to investigate the effects of high fat meals with different n-6/n-3 PUFA ratios on postprandial metabolism in normal control (NC) and hypertriglyceridemia (HTG) rats. The postprandial response of triglyceride (TG) in HTG groups was higher than that in NC groups after different n-6/n-3 PUFA ratio meals. The HTG groups showed higher postprandial total cholesterol (TC) responses than NC groups after 1:1 and 20:1 ratio meals. The 5:1 n-6/n-3 PUFA ratio elicited lower postprandial responses of tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) than 1:1 and 10:1 ratios in HTG groups. The postprandial malondialdehyde (MDA) response was lower after a 5:1 n-6/n-3 PUFA ratio meal than 1:1 and 20:1 ratio meals in HTG groups. The 1:1 ratio resulted in a lower postprandial reactive oxygen species (ROS) level than 5:1 and 10:1 n-6/n-3 PUFA ratios in NC groups. The results showed that a low n-6/n-3 PUFA ratio improved postprandial dysmetabolism induced by a high fat meal in NC and HTG rats. A high n-6/n-3 PUFA ratio increased the difference in postprandial metabolism between NC and HTG rats.