Effects of Lentinus edodes on fatty acid and molecular species profiles of phosphatidylcholine in rats fed different levels of corn oil.

Shiitake mushrooms (Lentinus edodes) are a hypocholesterolemic and affect phospholipid and fatty acid metabolism in rats. In this study, the effects of 2% shiitake in the diet on fatty acid and molecular species profiles of liver microsomal and plasma phosphatidylcholine (PC) were investigated in rats fed diets containing different levels (1-20%) of corn oil, a linoleic-acid-rich fat. The proportion of 18:2n-6 in PC increased depending on the parcent corn oil, and L. edodes further increased the proportion at all corn oil levels. The proportion of 20:4n-6 was lower in rats fed L. edodes than in rats fed control diets irrespective of the parcent corn oil. L. edodes selectively increased the proportion of 16:0-18:2 molecular species and decreased the proportion of 18:0-20:4 molecular species in PC. These results indicate that the effects of L. edodes on fatty acid and molecular species profiles of PC are stronger than that of the dietary corn oil level.