Level of serum palmitic acid in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Objective To analyze the serum levels of medium-and long-chain free fatty acids (FFAs)in patients with hyperlipidemic non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in order to shed some light on prevention and treatment of NAFLD.Methods The clinical data of 125 patients with high triglyceride (TG)levels who were treated in Hebei General Hospital from January 2011 to May 2011 were analyzed in this study.They were further divided into HF group (n =64) and H group (n =61) based on the presence of NAFLD or not.In addition,63 healthy individuals were recruited from the Central Hospital of Handan during the same period as the control group (N group).Serum medium-and long-chain FFAs were detected by gas chromatography.The body mass index (BMI),abdominal circumference,blood pressure,fasting blood glucose (FBG),and serum lipids including TG,total cholesterol (TC),high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C),and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) were measured.Results Compared with the N group,the H group had significantly higher BMI [(25.24 ± 1.41) kg/m2 vs.(24.32 ± 1.12) kg/m2,P =0.004],abdominal circumference [(84.72 ± 1.34) cm vs.(77.33 ±0.89) cm,P =0.010],and diastolic blood pressure [(77.35±1.21) mmHgvs.(75.21 ±1.61) mmHg,P=0.014]; also,the serum TG [(2.86±0.55) mmol/Lvs.(0.93±0.27) mmol/L,P=0.000] andTC levels [(4.56±0.66) mmol/Lvs.(4.36±0.47) mmol/L,P=0.000],serum myristic acid (C14∶0) [(0.49±0.04)％ vs.(0.36±0.01)％,P=0.011],palmitic acid (C16 ∶ 0) [(18.36 ± 0.47) ％ vs.(15.97 ± 0.30) ％,P =0.000],palmitoleic acid (C16∶ 1) [(1.00±0.12)％ vs.(0.58±0.02)％,P=0.001],and oleic acid (C18 ∶ 1) [(18.20±0.70) ％ vs.(12.23 ± 0.37) ％,P =0.000] all significantly increased,while stearic acid (C18 ∶ 0) [(7.52 ±0.22)％ vs.(8.15 ±0.28)％,P=0.012],eicosadienoic acid (C20 ∶ 2) [(0.61 ±0.07)％ vs.(1.03 ±0.17) ％,P =0.000],eicosatrienoic acid (C20 ∶ 3) [(1.77 ± 0.15) ％ vs.(2.49 ± 0.18) ％,P =0.002],and docosahexenoic acid (C22 ∶ 6) [(1.44 ± 0.08) ％ vs.(1.67 ± 0.09) ％,P =0.014] significantly decreased.Compared with the H group,the HF group had significantly higher weight [(85.76 ± 3.10) kg vs.(71.45 ±2.88) kg,P =0.003],abdominal circumference [(96.30 ±2.05) cm vs.(84.72 ± 1.34) cm,P=0.000],systolic blood pressure [(117.12 ±1.15) mmHg vs.(113.23 ±1.25) mmHg,P=0.009],and diastolic blood pressure [(79.54 ± 1.42) mmHg vs.(77.35 ± 1.21) mmHg,P =0.016],whereas the sreum FGB,TG,TC,HDL-C,and LDL-C showed no significant differentces; serum palmitic acid (C16 ∶ 0)[(19.54 ± 0.30) ％ vs.(18.36 ± 0.47) ％,P =0.000] also significantly increased.The serum level of eicosadienoic acid (C20 ∶ 2) in HF group was between that in N group and H group [(0.78 ± 0.09) ％ vs.(1.03 ±0.17)％,(0.78±0.09)％ vs.(0.61 ±0.07)％,both P=0.000].Conclusions The increased serum level of palmitic acid may be a risk factor for NAFLD.Reducing saturated fatty acids and increasing unsaturated acids in diets may be helpful for preventing NAFLD. Key words: Hyperlipidemia;  Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease;  Free fatty acid;  Gas chromatography