Overconsumption of Omega-6 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFAs) versus Deficiency of Omega-3 PUFAs in Modern-Day Diets: The Disturbing Factor for Their “Balanced Antagonistic Metabolic Functions” in the Human Body

Table 2

n-3 and n-6 PUFA composition of predominant fatty acid dietary sources (vegetable oils, oily seed crops, fish, and microalgae). Data elaborated from Saini and Keum [12], Balić et al. [35], and Amjad et al. [51].

Sources of dietary PUFAs		n-3 (g)			n-6 (g)			Ref.
		ALA	EPA	DHA	LA	AA	DPAn-6
Oils (purified)	Flaxseed (oil)	53.37	—	—	14.33	—	—	[12, 35]
	Canola (oil)	9.15	—	—	18.65	—	—
	Soybean (oil)	7.6	—	—	51.36	—	—
	Wheat germ (oil)	5.3	—	—	55.1	—	—
	Corn (oil)	0.6	—	—	49.83	—	—
	Sunflower (oil)	0.33	—	—	49.89	—	—
	Safflower (oil)	0.1	—	—	12.72	—	—
Seed and nuts	Chia (dried/ground)	17.83	—	—	5.84	—	—	[12, 35]
	Walnut (dried/ground)	6.64	—	—	34.02	—	—
	Hazelnut (dried/ground)	0.11	—	—	5.09	—	—
	Almond (dried/ground)	0.3	—	—	10.54	—	—
	Hemp seed (hulled)	8.68	—	—	27.36	—	—
	Brazil nuts (dried)	0.02	—	—	23.83	—	—
Vegetables	Lettuce (raw)	0.15	—	—	0.06	—	—	[35]
	Green broccoli (raw)	0.11	—	—	0.03	—	—
	Brussels (raw)	0.17	—	—	0.08	—	—
Fish (oil)	Salmon (oil)	—	13.3	18.23	—	—	2.99
	Sardine (oil)	—	10.15	10.66	—	—	1.97
	Herring (oil)	—	6.28	4.21	—	—	0.62
	Menhaden (oil)	—	13.18	8.56	—	—	4.92	[12, 35]
Fish (raw)	Salmon (raw)	0.09	0.89	1.19	0.15	0.05	—
	Herring (raw)	0.19	1.09	1.01	0.22	0.1	—
	Sardine (raw)	—	0.51	1.16	0.06	0.04	—
	Trout (raw)	0.1	0.15	0.5	0.37	0.05	—
	Cod (dried)	—	0.02	0.62	0.03	0.12	—	[35]
Beef	New Zealand, kidney (cooked)	0.08	0.15	0.03	0.38	0.37	0.10
	New Zealand, liver (raw)	0.05	0.11	0.04	0.14	0.19	0.14
Lamb	New Zealand, brain (raw)	0.00	0.00	0.36	0.01	0.16	0.14	[12]
Microalgal (oil)	Phaeodactylum tricornutum	—	36.5	23.6	—	—	—
	Chlorella minutissima	—	29	—	—	—	—
	Nannochloropsis oceanica	—	23.4	—	—	—	—
	Nannochloropsis salina	—	28	—	—	—	—
	Crypthecodinium cohnii	—	—	41	—	—	—
	Ceratium horridum	—	—	29.3	—	—	—	[51]

Values are g/100 g of total fatty acids.