RAILLIETINA CESTICILLUS - FATTY ACID COMPOSITION

Linoleic acid was the most abundant (34.7, 40.9%) lipid in the tissues of Raillietina cesticillus grown in young and adult chickens fed a natural diet containing considerable quantities of this acid. When the parasites were grown in chickens fed a low-fat (0.5%) synthetic ration, linoleic cid was detected in very small amounts (5.3%), compared to 49% found in cestodes obtained from chickens fed a similar diet supplemented with corn oil. The total dry matter of worms grown in chickens fed the natural diet contained 20.1-21.6% lipids. When the worms were grown in chickens fed a synthetic ration low in fat, their lipid content was 10.1% compared to 29.6% in worms grown in chickens fed a similar diet with added corn oil. Total fatty acid composition of Tribolium beetles harboring cysticercoids of R. cesticillus was not qualitatively or quantitatively very different from that of unparasitized beetles. However, parasitized beetles had a total lipid content of 14.9% compared to 19.8 and 20.5% in uninfected ones. The lipids of R. cesticillus appear to reflect the fatty acid makeup of its environment. © 1969.