Influence of temperature on the composition of saturated fatty acid in depot fat.

Abstract

When the rats were kept in hot and cold circumstance in winter and in summer, the composition of saturated fatty acid in depot fat was changed.In hot circumstance, palmitic acid was decreased while stearic acid was increased. In cold circumstance, on the contrary, palmitic acid was increased while stearic acid was decreased. These changes occured one week after the beginning of experiment and the degree of changes was more apparent in winter.