LA and ALA share a common metabolic pathway in animals and humans (Poudyal et al., 2011). LA is metabolised by Δ6-desaturase to γ-linolenic acid (GLA), and later by elongase and Δ5-desaturase to arachidonic acid (ARA), while ALA is converted by the same enzymes into EPA, subsequently to DPA then, finally, to DHA. The rate of transformation from ALA to EPA and later to DHA is affected by several factors such as age, sex, or genetics (Baker et al., 2016). In addition, levels of ALA, LA and DHA are affected by chronic diseases as shown in a study comparing lipid levels between patients with autoimmune diseases and healthy controls (Tsoukalas et al., 2019b).