A dietary investigation on the variations in phospholipid characteristics of red-cell membranes

Differences in phospholipid distribution and fatty acid composition between erythrocytes of different mammalian species, were investigated by dietary experiments with rats and sheep. The nature of teh ingested fats, and the non-participation of the ruminal micro-flora, appeared not to affect the proportions of the majro phospholipid classes in the erythrocytes studied. The differences in the composition of fatty acid constituents of red-cell phospholipids were shown to the attributed both to different dietary habits, ruminal processes and species differences in the biosynthesis of fatty acids.