THE EFFECT OF DIFFERENT LEVELS OF DIETARY ALPHA-LINOLENIC AND OTHER FATTY-ACIDS ON MAMMARY-GLAND DUCTULAR CELL-PROLIFERATION IN FEMALE SWISS-WEBSTER MICE

In previous work we have shown that changing the fatty acid compositio n of a constant amount of fat in a modified AIN-76A diet affected the level of ductular cell proliferation in the mammary glands of young vi rgin female Swiss Webster mice, In particular, linoleic acid concentra tions of 5-10% of the total fat in the diet led to variable but apprec iably higher levels of proliferation than did higher levels of linolei c acid. In this report it is shown that feeding low levels of the tota l fat as alpha-linolenic acid (0-5%) resulted in a similar effect. In addition the effects of other fats including menhaden oil, were furthe r investigated.