The Effect of Walnut Consumption on n -3 Fatty Acid Profile of Healthy People Living in a Non-Mediterranean West Balkan Country, a Small Scale Randomized Study

• Published in: Nutrients Vol. 12; no. 1; p. 192
• Main Authors: Petrović-Oggiano, Gordana, Debeljak-Martačić, Jasmina, Ranković, Slavica, Pokimica, Biljana, Mirić, Alma, Glibetić, Maria, Popović, Tamara
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 10-01-2020; MDPI
• Subjects: Carbohydrates; Diet; Dietary minerals; Eicosapentaenoic acid; Evaluation; Fatty acids; Food; Health care; Juglans regia; Linolenic acid; Medical research; n-3 pufa; non-mediterranean west balkan country; Nutrient deficiency; Nuts; Proteins; Randomization; small scale randomized study; Software; walnut consumption; Walnuts; Victoria Australia; Serbia; Australia; United States > US; small scale randomized study; n-3 PUFA; non-Mediterranean West Balkan country; walnut consumption
• DOI: 10.3390/nu12010192
• EISSN: 2072-6643

People living in non-Mediterranean West Balkan countries have diets with a low
-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) content. Walnuts, a traditional Serbian food, could be an excellent source of
-3 PUFA. The first sub-study evaluated the fatty acid and mineral content of Serbian walnuts, demonstrating that walnuts had the high content of linolenic acid (C18:3,
-3 ALA). The second sub-study assessed the consumption of walnuts (
L.) and total
-3-fatty acid intake in apparently healthy Serbian residents, using 24-h dietary recalls (
= 352). An inadequate intake of
-3 fatty acids and a low consumption of walnuts was seen. Additionally, we evaluated the fatty acid profile of healthy Serbian adults (
= 110) and finally, via a randomized intervention 4-weeks study, we assessed the effects of walnut consumption on
-3 fatty acid profile of participants (
= 18). The plasma content of
-3 PUFA was low and the
-6/
-3 ratio was high in our study participants. The
-3 plasma fatty acid profile was improved after 4 weeks of walnut consumption, meaning that ALA, eicosapentaenoic acid, and total
-3 were significantly increased. The results of our study pointed out the potential health benefits of walnuts consumption on amelioration of the
-3 fatty acid profile that should be taken into account in preventive management programs. The higher conversion of ALA to EPA (>10%) in examined study participants, suggests the importance of a moderate walnut consumption.