דו״ח מאומת

The essential fatty acid alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) is present in high amounts in oils such as flaxseed, soy, hemp, rapeseed, chia, and perilla, while stearidonic acid is abundant in echium oil. ALA is metabolized to eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) by desaturases and elongases in humans. The conversion of ALA to EPA and DHA is limited, and these long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are mainly provided from dietary sources (fish and seafood). This review provides an overview of studies that explored the effects of dietary supplementation with ALA in obesity and related diseases. The obesity-associated changes of desaturase and elongase activities are summarized, as they could influence the metabolic conversion of ALA. Generally, supplementation with ALA or ALA-rich oils leads to an increase in EPA levels and has no effect on DHA or omega-3 index. According to the literature data, stearidonic acid could enhance conversion of ALA to long-chain n-3 PUFA in obesity. Recent studies confirm that EPA and DHA intake should be considered as a primary dietary treatment strategy for improving the omega-3 index in obesity and related diseases.…

PMID: 35889342

The plant-derived α-linolenic acid (ALA) is an essential n-3 acid highly susceptible to oxidation, present in oils of flaxseeds, walnuts, canola, perilla, soy, and chia. After ingestion, it can be incorporated in to body lipid pools (particularly triglycerides and phospholipid membranes), and then endogenously metabolized through desaturation, elongation, and peroxisome oxidation to eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), with a very limited efficiency (particularly for DHA), beta-oxidized as an energy source, or directly metabolized to C18-oxilipins. At this moment, data in the literature about the effects of ALA supplementation on metabolic syndrome (MetS) in humans are inconsistent, indicating no effects or some positive effects on all MetS components (abdominal obesity, dyslipidemia, impaired insulin sensitivity and glucoregulation, blood pressure, and liver steatosis). The major effects of ALA on MetS seem to be through its conversion to more potent EPA and DHA, the impact on the n-3/n-6 ratio, and the consecutive effects on the formation of oxylipins and endocannabinoids, inflammation, insulin sensitivity, and insulin secretion, as well as adipocyte and hepatocytes function. It is important to distinguish the direct effects of ALA from the effects of EPA and DHA metabolites. This review summarizes the most recent findings on this topic and discusses the possible mechanisms.…

PMID: 38732139

Dietary fatty acids (FA) are increasingly recognized as major biologic regulators and have properties that relate to health outcomes and disease. The longer chain, more bioactive (n-6) (or omega-6) FA and (n-3) (or omega-3) FA share similar elongation and desaturation enzymes in their conversion from the essential (n-6) FA, linoleic acid, and (n-3) FA, α-linolenic acid (ALA). Conversion from these essential FA is very inefficient. However, now for the (n-3) FA series, soy oil can be enriched with (n-3) stearidonic acid (SDA) to allow for much more efficient conversion to longer chain EPA. EPA and the longer chain DHA possess distinct physical and biological properties that generally impart properties to cells and tissue, which underlie their ability to promote health and prevent disease. Although active in a number of areas of human biology, mechanisms of action of EPA and DHA are perhaps best defined in cardiovascular disease. There is concern that to reach the intake recommendations of EPA and DHA, their supply from cold water fish will be insufficient. Gaps in understanding mechanisms of action of (n-3) FA in a number of health and disease areas as well as optimal sources and intake levels for each need to be defined by further research. Because of the inefficient conversion of ALA, the appearance of SDA in enriched soy oil offers a biologically effective and cost effective approach to providing a sustainable plant source for (n-3) FA in the future.…

PMID: 22323763

The enrichment and transformation of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) enriched phospholipids for eggs deserve attention. The aim of the present study was to elucidate the comparative effects of DHA and EPA enriched phospholipids and triacylglycerols on egg fortification by determining the fatty acid composition of egg yolk after intervention with fish oil (15 g/kg) and krill oil (15 and 30 g/kg) for three consecutive weeks. The results indicated that laying hens could incorporate over 300 mg DHA and EPA into one egg. Greater retention efficiency of DHA and EPA in eggs was observed in fish oil supplementation compared with krill oil at equivalent dietary levels. DHA and EPA were prone to locate at the sn-2 position of phosphatidylcholine. Consequently, fish oil possessed high DHA content and conversion rate, and krill oil could raise the proportion of DHA-containing phospholipids in eggs.…

PMID: 33418418

The fatty acid content of microalgae, especially the high content of omega-3 fatty acids such as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, C20:5) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, C22:6), could enrich eggs when fed to laying hens. Moreover, the properties and bioactive components of omega-3 fatty acids could positively influence the health and production performance of laying hens. In this study, the effects of dried Nannochloropsis limnetica inclusions in diets on yolk omega-3 fatty acid content, laying hen performance, nutrient retention, intestinal morphometry and systemic inflammatory markers were measured. A total of 240 twenty-five-wk-old laying hens were randomly assigned to 5 treatments distributed among 30 pens. Treatment A received the reference diet, while diets in treatments B, C, and D contained the control diet with 1, 2, and 3% microalgae added, respectively. In treatment E, a portion of ingredients of the control diet was replaced with rapeseed meal to induce a mild nutritional challenge, along with an inclusion of 3% microalgae. Compared to the control group the rate of lay increased by approximately 5% (P = 0.039) when birds were fed 2 or 3% microalgae. Furthermore, inclusion of 2 and 3% microalgae resulted in higher feed intake compared to the control group (126, 125, and 119 g/hen/d respectively; P = 0.001). Other performance parameters such as nutrient retention and egg characteristics were not affected by the dietary treatments. The EPA and DHA content of the yolk increased with increasing microalgae inclusion level (P < 0.001). A 2% algal inclusion resulted in 58.3 (EPA) and 603 (DHA) mg per 100 g dry yolk, respectively. Plasma haptoglobin levels of laying hens in both treatments receiving 3% microalgae were almost 3 times lower compared to the control group (1.25 and 1.62 vs. 5.60; P < 0.001), regardless of the inclusion of rapeseed in the diet. Based on these results, it can be concluded that the inclusion of N. limnetica enriches the egg yolk without negatively affecting the performance of laying hens and egg characteristics. Due to the positive effect on feed intake, microalgae in the diet provide nutritional benefits for laying hens. However, the positive effects of microalgae, especially on the health of laying hens, warrants further research.…

PMID: 35477136

Although docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) enrichment in eggs has been extensively studied in laying hens, research on DHA-fortified eggs in quails remains limited. This study evaluated the effects of graded levels of Schizochytrium algae powder (SAP) on production performance, egg quality, egg DHA enrichment and fatty acid composition, and related gene expression responsible for DHA absorption and transport in yellow-feathered laying quails. A total of 960 birds were randomly assigned to four dietary groups (0%, 0.4%, 0.8%, or 1.2% SAP) for an eight-week trial, with each group consisting of six replicates of forty quails each. A quadratic response was observed for egg production and egg mass (P < 0.05), with the 0.4% SAP group higher than the control group (P < 0.05). A significant decreasing linear trend in mortality was observed with increasing SAP levels (P < 0.05). Egg yolk color responded linearly and quadratically to dietary SAP at both 4 and 8 weeks (P < 0.05), with all supplemented groups exhibiting higher values than the control (P < 0.05). DHA content in whole egg and yolk exhibited linear and quadratic increases with SAP supplementation at all timepoints (P < 0.05), resulting in higher levels than the control in all SAP-treated groups (P < 0.05) and plateauing at the 0.8% inclusion level. Moreover, SAP supplementation linearly elevated total omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid content and the omega-3/omega-6 ratio, while linearly reducing γ-linolenic acid and arachidonic acid concentrations in yolk (P < 0.05). Transcriptional analysis revealed linear upregulation of key genes involved in DHA absorption and transport in the duodenum, jejunum, and liver in response to SAP supplementation (P < 0.05). These findings demonstrate that dietary supplementation with SAP quadratically increased production performance, improved yolk color, enriched egg DHA content, elevated the omega-3/omega-6 ratio, and modulated the expression of genes involved in DHA absorption and transport. Collectively, this study provides an effective strategy for developing DHA-enriched quail eggs, with an optimal dietary SAP inclusion range of 0.4%-0.8%.…

PMID: 41905075

Lipids are essential components of foods which include fatty acids, glycolipids, sphingolipids, sterols, vitamin D, isoprenoids, etc. It possesses bioactive properties that exhibit desirable impact on human health. However, understanding the complexity of food lipids, requires sophisticated analytical methods capable of capturing their full spectrum. Lipidomics (LIP), an emerging omics field derived from metabolomics focuses on the complete analysis of lipid molecules within food matrices. Mass spectrometry (MS)-based LIP, exhibit great potential for analysing food lipids. The present review discusses the application of LIP in characterizing lipid metabolites in food, including how food processing, cooking, and storage, influence lipid profiles. Advancement in MS-based LIP enabled the detection of lipid alterations, along with ensuring food quality, authenticity, and safety. Future trends suggest further advancements in MS and separation techniques and application of Large Language Models will emerge as powerful tools in supporting oil processing research and industry practices. These techniques offered innovative predictions for mining significant information from lipidomic related large volumes of scientific and technical literature that will expand the application of LIP, providing deeper insights into lipid metabolism as well as understanding lipids in relation to health and nutrition.…

PMID: 41488111