Abstract
1. Rats were fed on either a diet deficient in essential fatty acid (EFA) or one supplemented with dihomo-γ-linolenic acid (20:3,n-6) at levels that represented 0.25, 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0% of the dietary energy.2. Supplementation of the diet of EFA-deficient animals with 20:3,n-6 reversed most of the fatty acid changes induced in the liver phospholipid fraction.3. The EFA potency of 20:3,n-6 was found to be similar to that of γ-linolenic acid (18:3,n-6) which has been shown to be higher than that of linoleic acid (18:2,n-6).