The Fulani are semi-nomadic pastoralists of West Africa whose diet,
culture, and economy are centred on cattle. Previous studies have shown
that the Fulani of northern Nigeria derive 50% of their total calories
from fat and 30% of their calories from milk, cheese, yogurt, and
butter oil that contain significant amounts of trans fatty acids
(TFAs), primarily vaccenic acid, which raise total serum cholesterol
and low-density lipoproteincholesterol (LDL-C), and lower high-density
lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C). The study was conducted to know how
the consumption of relatively large amounts of dairy products by adult
Fulani affected the TFA content of their serum phospholipids. Blood
samples were collected from 22 male and 29 female Fulani, aged 35-60
years, who were living in rural areas of Gombe state in northeastern
Nigeria. The total serum phospholipid fraction was isolated, and its
fatty acid composition was determined. Surprisingly, vaccenic acid was
not detected, and three other TFAs\u201418:1-t6, 18:1-t9, and
18:2-t9,t12\u2014together accounted for only 0.16% of the total fatty
acid. The mean serum total cholesterol, LDL-C, and triglyceride
concentrations of the subjects were within the normal range for
populations in developed countries; however, at 32 mg/dL, the mean
serum HDL-C concentration of the Fulani males was slightly below the
lower limit of the reference range. No correlations were observed
between the total TFA percentage or that of the three individual TFAs
and any of the parameters of the serum lipid profile. These findings
indicate that, with respect to TFAs at least, the fatty acid pattern of
the serum phospholipids of Fulani pastoralists does not reflect the
high TFA content of their traditional diet. Despite the consumption of
rumenic acid-rich dairy products, for unknown reasons, the semi-nomadic
Fulani manage to maintain a low level of TFAs in their blood and a
relatively healthful serum lipid profile. While the mechanism that
accounts for this disconnect between the consumption of TFAs by Fulani
pastoralists and the proportion of TFAs in their serum phospholipids is
obscure, possibilities include discrimination against rumenic acid
during the process of triglyceride synthesis and chylomicron synthesis
in the intestine and the preferential oxidation of TFAs by Fulani the
people compared to other ethnic groups