. 2021 May 11;12:667024. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2021.667024

TABLE 5.

Indirect desaturation indexes of the desaturases in the total fatty acids from healthy subjects and COVID-19 patients.

Desaturation index	Healthy subjects	COVID-19 patients	p
C16:1n-7/C16:0 (Δ⁹)	0.14 ± 0.007	0.10 ± 0.006	0.001
C18:1n-9/C18:0 (Δ⁹)	1.43 ± 0.08	3.82 ± 0.13	0.001
γ-C18:3n-6/C18:2n-6 (Δ⁶)	0.010 ± 0.001	0.009 ± 0.001	0.005
C20:4n-6/C20:3n-6 (Δ⁵)	4.88 ± 0.62	12.81 ± 2.19	0.001
C22:6n-3/C20:5n-3 (Δ⁵)	0.26 ± 0.06	0.33 ± 0.05	NS

Fatty acid nomenclature: C16:0, palmitic acid; C16:1n-7, palmitoleic acid; C18:0, stearic acid; C18:1n-9, oleic acid; C18:2n-6, linoleic acid; γ-C18:3n-6, γ-linolenic acid; α-C18:3n-3, α-linolenic acid; C20:3n-6, dihomo-γ-linolenic acid; C20:4n-6, arachidonic acid; C20:5n-3 eicosapentaenoic acid; C22:6n-3, docosahexaenoic acid. Data are mean ± SE (healthy subjects n = 22) (COVID-19 patients n = 42). The bold values indicate significant changes.