2.3.1. HDL Subclasses and Lipid Content
In addition to the increase in HDL-cholesterol plasma concentrations after n-3 supplementation, HDL-phospholipids were significantly augmented by 27%, whereas HDL-triglycerides diminished by about 35% (Cholesterol tended to increase in all HDL subclasses, but reached statistical significance only for small particles HDL3b and HDL3c, indicating that n-3 supplementation did not affect size distribution and had a mild effect on lipid content in HDLs (Besides the increase in EPA and DHA content in HDLs, three n-6 fatty acids significantly decreased, particularly cis-5,8,11-eicosatrienoic acid (20:3 n-6) precursor of arachidonic acid (AA, 20:4 n-6), and two fatty acids derived from AA, cis-7,10,13,16-docosatetraenoic acid (22:4 n-6), and cis-4,7,10,13,16-docosapentaenoic acid (22:5 n-6) (