Fig. 3

Unsaturation and utilization of the fatty acids of glycerophospholipids in the liver of tadpoles. Tadpoles (n = 6/group) were reared in dechlorinated tap water at 26 °C with or without 5 nM 3,3′,5-triiodothyronine (T3; 26C and 26T, respectively) or 4 °C with or without 5 nM T3 (4C and 4T, respectively) for 3 days (left) or 7 days (right). Each glycerophospholipid sample was extracted from the livers of two animals. The unsaturation index (UI, A), the ratios of monounsatureated fatty acid (MUFA)/saturated fatty acid (SFA) (B), 20:4n-6/18:2n-6 (C), 20:5n-3/18:3n-3 (D) and Σω-3 FA/Σω-6 FA (E) were calculated from the fatty acid composition of glycerophospholipids (Table 1). Values are mean ± SEM (n = 3). Different letters indicate significantly different means and were determined by one-way analysis of variance with Fisher’s test for multiple comparisons (p < 0.05)