Simultaneous Treatment of Long-chain Monounsaturated Fatty Acid and n-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Decreases Lipid and Cholesterol Levels in HepG2 Cell.

The n-3 type polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3PUFAs), including eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), from fish oil exhibit health benefits such as triacylglycerol- and cholesterol-lowering effects. Some pelagic fishes contain long-chain monounsaturated fatty acids (LC-MUFAs) such as eicosenoic acid (C20:1), which exert health-promoting effects. However, no study has evaluated beneficial effects of n-3PUFA and LC-MUFA combination. Here, we investigated effects of simultaneous treatment with n-3PUFA (EPA and DHA) and LC-MUFA (cis-5-C20:1 and cis-7-C20:1) and found that n-3PUFA and LC-MUFA combination significantly decreased lipid accumulation and reduced total cholesterol in HepG2 cells. Cholesterol level was significantly lower in DHA + cis-7-C20:1 group than in DHA + EPA group. These results suggest the importance of LC-MUFA as a functional molecule in fish oil.

Comparison of the Effects of Long-chain Monounsaturated Fatty Acid Positional Isomers on Lipid Metabolism in 3T3-L1 Cells.

Long chain monounsaturated fatty acids (LC-MUFAs) have shown beneficial health effects in previous studies. They occur as mixtures of positional isomers (PIs) in food. The functionalities of LC-MUFA PIs have not been studied extensively. Common LC-MUFA PIs, namely cis-octadecenoic acid (c-18:1), cis-eicosenoic acid (c-20:1), and cis-docosenoic acid (c-22:1), were screened based on their effects on lipid accumulation. We selected nine fatty acids (FAs) to assess their effects on cellular lipid metabolism using 3T3-L1 preadipocytes. Lipid accumulation was found to be higher in cells treated with LC-MUFAs than in the non-treated cells. When comparing the influence of chain length of LC-MUFAs, TG levels tended to be higher in cells treated with c-22:1 group than that of the c18:1 and c-20:1 groups. Among the c-22:1 group, c9-22:1 treatment showed higher lipid accumulation, and was accompanied with elevated expression of transcription factors related to adipogenesis and lipogenesis, such as PPARγ and C/EBPα, and SREBP-1, respectively. In contrast, the effects of c-20:1 FAs were less pronounced than those of c-18:1 and c-22:1. Levels of accumulated lipid in cells treated with c15-20:1 were the same as in non-treated control. PPARγ, C/EBPα, and SREBP-1 were expressed at lower levels with c15-20:1 FA. Furthermore, mRNA levels of SCD-1 and FAS were lowered more by c15- and c11-20:1 than by other MUFAs. These results revealed that differences in the effects of LC-MUFAs on lipid metabolism depend on their chain lengths and on the position of the double bond.

Quantitative Analysis of the Distribution of cis-Eicosenoic Acid Positional Isomers in Marine Fishes from the Indian Ocean.

This study investigated the occurrence and distribution of cis-eicosenoic acid (c-20:1) positional isomers in fishes from the Indian Ocean and compared to those from the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean. Lipids were extracted from the edible part of the fish and then methylated. The eicosenoic acid methyl ester fraction was separated from total fatty acid methyl esters by reversed-phase HPLC and quantitatively analyzed using a GC-FID fitted with the SLB-IL111 highly polar GC column. c14-20:1 was used as an internal standard. The results indicated that the highest levels of c-20:1 positional isomers were found in fishes from the Pacific Ocean (saury, 166.95±12.4 mg/g of oil), followed by the Atlantic Ocean (capelin, 162.7±3.5 mg/g of oil), and lastly in fishes from the Indian Ocean (goatfish, 34.39 mg/g of oil). With only a few exceptions, the most abundant 20:1 positional isomer found in fishes of the Indian and Atlantic Ocean was the c11-20:1 isomer (>50%) followed by the c13-20:1 isomer (<25%). Unusually, the c7-20:1 isomer was predominantly found in a few fishes such as the tooth ponyfish, longface emperor, and commerson's sole. The c9, c5, and c15-20:1 isomers were the least occurring in fishes from the Indian and Atlantic Ocean. In contrast, the c9-20:1 isomer was the principal isomer identified in fishes from the Pacific Ocean. The results revealed that the content and distribution of c-20:1 positional isomers varied among fishes in different oceans. The data presented in the current study are the first to report on the distribution of c-20:1 positional isomers in fishes from the Indian Ocean.

Comparative Analysis of Lipid Content and Fatty Acid Composition of Commercially Important Fish and Shellfish from Sri Lanka and Japan.

Sri Lanka is surrounded by the Indian Ocean, allowing plenty of fishes to be caught. Moreover, these fishes represent one of the undocumented fish resources in the world and their detailed lipid profiles have not been previously examined. In this study, the lipid content and fatty acid composition of 50 commercially important fishes from the Indian Ocean (Sri Lanka) and the Pacific Ocean (Japan) were compared. The total lipid content and fatty acid composition, including eicosapentaenoic acid (C20:5n-3, EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (C22:6n-3, DHA), differed significantly among species. Fish from the Pacific Ocean had higher proportions of fatty acids, including EPA and DHA. Herrings and mackerels from both oceanic areas demonstrated high levels of EPA and DHA, and n-3/n-6 ratio. Brackish and freshwater fishes from both groups showed low levels of PUFAs. Fish from the Indian Ocean were high in n-6 fatty acids. Monounsaturated fatty acid levels were high in omnivorous fish from the Pacific Ocean, and saturated fatty acid levels were high in fish from the Indian Ocean. The results of this study will be of value in determining the dietary usefulness of fish caught in Sri Lanka.