Polyunsaturated fatty acids of the n -- 3 series influence intestinal crypt cell production in rats

The effects of saturated and polyunsaturated dietary lipidson intestinal mucosal cell proliferation were investigated inrats. Animals were randomly allocated to three groups of 10,and fed fibre-free diets containing lipid in the form of lard,corn oil or fish oil at a level of 80 g/kg. Total energy intakewas kept constant by pair-feeding. After 14 days the crypt cellproduction rates (CCPR) at two sites in the small intestine,one site in the caecum and two sites in the colon were determinedby the metaphase arrest technique, together with circulatinglevels of enteroglucagon and gastrin and parameters of mucosalmorphology. Consumption of fish oil led to lower CCPR comparedto corn oil at all sampling positions except the caecum (Treatment