Action of alkyl glycerol ethers and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids diet on hematological parameters of blood and liver plasmalogen level in aged rats.

One of the ways to reduce age-related changes can be a diet correction by adding biologically active substances. We studied the effect of a diet including alkyl glycerol ethers (AGs) and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) concentrate isolated from the hepatopancreas of Berrytheuthis magister squid on hematological parameters and plasmalogens level in the liver of elderly rats. The senile animals showed decrease in hemoglobin, a three-fold decrease in leukocytes, a three-fold increase in platelet count, and a double decrease of blood coagulation time in the peripheral blood. Age-related changes in rats were characterized by the development of anemia, hypercoagulation, and a decrease in the number of immunocompetent cells. AGs, both separately and in combination with n-3 PUFAs, induced an increase in the number of red blood cells and hemoglobin, a decrease in the number of platelets, and an immunostimulating activity. Under the action of AGs and n-3 PUFAs, the concentration of plasmalogens and docosahexaenoic acid in the rat liver increased 2- and 1.5 folds, respectively. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: This study showed that the combined use of AGs and n-3 PUFAs improves the rheological properties of the blood and the state of the immune system during aging. The enrichment of diet with dietary supplements, whose structure contains AGs and n-3 PUFAs can increase the content of plasmalogens in the body.

Recovery of brain DHA-containing phosphatidylserine and ethanolamine plasmalogen after dietary DHA-enriched phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylserine in SAMP8 mice fed with high-fat diet.

BACKGROUND: Glycerophospholipids were the main components of cerebral cortex lipids, and there was a close association between lipid homeostasis and human health. It has been reported that dietary DHA-enriched phosphatidylcholine (DHA-PC) and phosphatidylserine (DHA-PS) could improve brain function. However, it was unclear that whether supplementation of DHA-PC and DHA-PS could change lipid profiles in the brain of dementia animals. METHODS: SAMP8 mice was fed with different diet patterns for 2 months, including high-fat diet and low-fat diet. After intervention with DHA-PC and DHA-PS for another 2 months, the lipid profile in cerebral cortex was determined by lipidomics in dementia mice. RESULTS: High-fat diet could significantly decrease the levels of DHA-containing PS/pPE, DPA-containing PS, and AA-containing PE, which might exhibit the potential of lipid biomarkers for the prevention and diagnosis of AD. Notably, DHA-PC and DHA-PS remarkably recovered the lipid homeostasis in dementia mice. These might provide a potential novel therapy strategy and direction of dietary intervention for patients with cognitive decline. CONCLUSIONS: DHA-PC and DHA-PS could recover the content of brain DHA-containing PS and pPE in SAMP8 mice fed with high-fat diet.

Comprehensive study of rodent olfactory tissue lipid composition.

The peripheral olfactory tissue (OT) plays a primordial role in the detection and transduction of olfactory information. Recent proteomic and transcriptomic studies have provided valuable insight into proteins and RNAs expressed in this tissue. Paradoxically, there is little information regarding the lipid composition of mammalian OT. To delve further into this issue, using a set of complementary state-of-the-art techniques, we carried out a comprehensive analysis of OT lipid composition in rats and mice fed with standard diets. The results showed that phospholipids are largely predominant, the major classes being phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine. Two types of plasmalogens, plasmenyl-choline and plasmenyl-ethanolamine, as well as gangliosides were also detected. With the exception of sphingomyelin, substantial levels of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, mainly docosahexaenoic acid (22:6n-3; DHA), were found in the different phospholipid classes. These findings demonstrate that the rodent OT shares several features in common with other neural tissues, such as the brain and retina.

Severe alterations in lipid composition of frontal cortex lipid rafts from Parkinson's disease and incidental Parkinson's disease.

Lipid rafts are cholesterol- and sphingomyelin-enriched microdomains that provide a highly saturated and viscous physicochemical microenvironment to promote protein-lipid and protein-protein interactions. We purified lipid rafts from human frontal cortex from normal, early motor stages of Parkinson's disease (PD) and incidental Parkinson's disease (iPD) subjects and analyzed their lipid composition. We observed that lipid rafts from PD and iPD cortices exhibit dramatic reductions in their contents of n-3 and n-6 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, especially docosahexaenoic acid (22:6-n3) and arachidonic acid (20:4n-6). Also, saturated fatty acids (16:0 and 18:0) were significantly higher than in control brains. Paralleling these findings, unsaturation and peroxidability indices were considerably reduced in PD and iPD lipid rafts. Lipid classes were also affected in PD and iPD lipid rafts. Thus, phosphatidylserine and phosphatidylinositol were increased in PD and iPD, whereas cerebrosides and sulfatides and plasmalogen levels were considerably diminished. Our data pinpoint a dramatic increase in lipid raft order due to the aberrant biochemical structure in PD and iPD and indicate that these abnormalities of lipid rafts in the frontal cortex occur at early stages of PD pathology. The findings correlate with abnormal lipid raft signaling and cognitive decline observed during the development of these neurodegenerative disorders.

French mothers' milk deficient in DHA contains phospholipid species of potential interest for infant development.

OBJECTIVES: An insufficient human milk docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) level was reported worldwide, which leads to the question of the sufficiency of the DHA supply for infant development in the French Mediterranean area. Also, among milk lipids, phospholipids may be of high potential interest for infant brain development, being a specific vector of DHA and providing plasmalogens. We aimed to estimate the consumption of such milk compounds by preterm and term infants. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Milk samples from 22 lactating French women living in a port city, Marseille, were collected in a neonatology department from a single full-breast expression using an electric pump. Amounts of triglycerides, total phospholipids and plasmalogens, and fatty acid profile were determined by gas chromatography, and cholesterol by enzymatic assay. RESULTS: Depending on the infant dietary guidelines we referred to, 46% or 82% of milk samples were below the recommended DHA level (0.4% or 0.7%), and a majority exhibited high linoleic acid/α-linolenic acid and n-6/n-3 ratios, probably resulting from high linoleic acid together with low fish and seafood products consumption. DHA carried by phospholipids in a majority of specimens met the requirements for brain development for term but not for premature infants. Milk plasmalogen levels ranged from 3.4 to 39.2  mg/L. CONCLUSIONS: Our results support the recommendation of DHA supplementation to French mothers living in a Mediterranean port city, and of decreased linoleic acid intake, to reach optimal milk composition for infant health. DHA-containing phospholipids including plasmalogen species may represent important bioactive human milk compounds.

Extensive analysis of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, CLA, trans-18:1 isomers, and plasmalogenic lipids in different retail beef types.

The objective of this investigation was to provide a comprehensive analysis of the total lipid composition of present-day retail beef meat available at the consumer level and to evaluate the total lipid composition with special emphasis on the nutritional value. For this purpose, 40 beef cuts were obtained from four cattle farms based on either a natural grazing system (NGS) or an intensive production system (IPS). The total lipid composition was analyzed using complementary chemical and chromatographic procedures. The content of n-3 LC-PUFA, CLA, total trans-18:1, and branched-chain fatty acids was significantly higher in NGS beef than in IPS beef. The trans-18:1 and CLA profiles were affected by the different production systems, whereby they can be utilized empirically to differentiate between feeding regimen and production management. Fatty acid ratios that have health implications ( n-6/ n-3, LA/alphaLNA, and AA/EPA) were remarkably beneficial for NGS beef compared with IPS beef. In conclusion, from the human health perspective, beef raised on NGS is clearly superior with regard to a more favorable fatty acid profile in comparison to IPS beef.

[Time-course changes in the alkenyl and acyl chain composition of plasmalogens from the heart and kidneys of rats ingesting trielaidin]. / Evolution au cours du temps de la composition en chaînes alkényles et acyles des plasmalogènes de mitochondries de coeur et de reins chez des rats ingérant de la triélaïdine.

Weaned rats were fed for 7 or 32 days a semi-purified diet containing 10% of fat supplement in which elaidic acid accounted for 64.5% of total fatty acids. Alkenyl groups from plasmalogens of kidney and heart mitochondria were analysed as their alkyl-substituted dioxane derivatives by gas liquid chromatography (GLC). Acyl chains of total and individual phospholipids (phosphatidylcholine: PC; phosphatidylethanolamine: PE, diacyl and alkenyl-acyl forms; phosphatidylinositol: PI; cardiolipin: CL) were also analysed by GLC. Maximum level of elaidic acid incorporation was attained after only one week on the experimental diet in either total or individual phospholipids. Heart mitochondria phospholipids contained about 40% more trans-monounsaturated acids (20.9%) than kidney mitochondria phospholipids (12.5%) after one month. trans-Monounsaturated acids (t-18: 1 plus t-16: 1 acids) were incorporated in individual phospholipids from both organs in decreasing order: PI greater than PE (total) greater than PC much greater than CL. The order of incorporation of elaidic acid seemed to be related to the content of stearic acid in these phospholipids when the diet was devoid of elaidic acid (PI greater than PE greater than PC much greater than CL). The content of elaidic acid in alkenyl-acyl-glycerophosphoethanolamine (alkenyl-acyl-GPE) was the same (6% of total fatty acids) in both organs. The time-course incorporation of trans-monounsaturated alkenyl chains was different. After one week on the elaidic acid-enriched diet, they represented only 65% (kidney) or 43% (heart) of the values reached after one month. At the end of the feeding period, the trans-monounsaturated alkenyl chains were also about 40% less in total plasmalogens from kidney mitochondria (27.8%) than from heart mitochondria (46%). trans-Monounsaturated acyl chains were incorporated at a higher rate in the 2-position of alkenyl-acyl-GPE than trans-monounsaturated alkenyl chains in their 1-position. Our results confirm the unique observation of Kramer et al. (1985) who noticed that the fatty acid composition of phospholipids was much more rapidly equilibrated than the alkenyl chain composition of plasmalogens (1 week vs 2-3 weeks) from heart of rats fed diets supplemented with different oils.

Some contributions to the thin-layer chromatographic analysis of complex natural phospholipid and neutral lipid mixtures.

We have isolated a minor phosphatidyl ethanolamine component from pancreas and a minor phosphatidyl choline component from retina, which were revealed by their separate thin-layer chromatographic properties on silica gel and aluminum oxide sheets, respectively. We have described in some detail a number of modifications in thin-layer chromatography methodology which enhances the opportunity for assessing the glycerophospholipid and neutral lipid composition of tissues, as attested by a diverse set of examples, and have pointed out some of the associated technical problems.

Modification of alkenyl chain profile in plasmalogens of rat heart mitochondria by dietary trielaidin.

Effects of dietary trielaidin upon the alkenyl chain profile of plasmalogens were studied using heart mitochondria of rats fed a semi-purified diet containing 10% of fat supplement in which elaidic acid accounted for 69% of total fatty acids. Alkyl substituted dioxane (ASD) derivatives of the alkenyl groups of plasmalogens were prepared and analyzed by silver nitrate TLC and by GLC on different phases (BDS and OV-275). After two months of feeding the experimental diet, 40% of the ASD contained a trans-octadecenyl chain, suggesting that dietary elaidic acid was reduced in vivo to the corresponding alcohol and incorporated into plasmalogens. There was a simultaneous decrease in the percentage of ASD containing saturated chains, but the percentage of ASD substituted with cis-octadecenyl chains was not significantly affected. These observations suggested that elaidic acid may compete with saturated fatty acids, but not with cis-octadecenoic acids during the plasmalogen biosynthesis. Feeding trielaidin did not seem to have any significant influence on the relative proportions of plasmalogens, which accounted for 11-12%, on a phosphorus basis, of total heart mitochondria phospholipids.

Isolation and identification of phospholipids of bovine rhodopsin.

Phospholipids present in digitonin solutions of bovine rhodopsin have been identified and assayed. Digitonin interferes with extraction of lipids by the usual methods; digitonin was therefore removed from the preparation as an ergosterol digitonide, soluble in absolute ethanol but precipitated in 80% ethanol. The supernatant 80% ethanol contained one portion of the phospholipid, mainly choline and ethanolamine phosphoglycerides with traces of serine phosphoglyceride and sphingomyelin. The rhodopsin residue (free from digitonin) was extracted with chloroform-methanol 2:1; this extract contained the rest of the phospholipid, which consisted only of choline and ethanolamine phosphoglycerides. Plasmalogens were not found, but could have decomposed during the procedures.