George Alan Garton. 4 June 1922—13 May 2010

Abstract

Alan Garton and his group at The Rowett Research Institute in Aberdeen made very significant and unique contributions to the understanding of differences in digestion, absorption and metabolism of dietary lipids (fats) and their importance to health in mammalian species, particularly farm animals, but also various aspects of lipid metabolism and health in humans. The group were the first to use commercially available gas chromatography and first, this side of the Atlantic, to employ thin-layer chromatography for lipid analyses. A special adaptation of radio-gas chromatography, developed in-house, also led to the definitive evidence that radio-labelled methylmalonyl-CoA, derived from propionic acid, particularly from grain-fed sheep, can be utilized for fatty acid synthesis. Alan always highlighted the relevance of the group's lipid research to human health and wellbeing, as seen by the role of branched-chain fatty acids in Refsum's disease and the later development of studies of the role of saturated and essential omega-3, -6 and -9 fatty acids, including conjugated linoleic acids and trans fatty acids, in human health and disease by the group.