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.

Effects of dietary choline, betaine, and L-carnitine on the generation of trimethylamine-N-oxide in healthy mice.

Trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO) is considered to have negative effect on human health. Different precursors of TMAO, such as choline, betaine, and L-carnitine, are commonly found in daily foods. The aim of the present study was to compare the ability of different precursors to be metabolized into TMAO, as well as the possible effect of chronic administration with TMAO precursors on TMAO production. The rate of TMAO generation after single gavage with different precursors was L-carnitine > choline >betaine. Moreover, the serum TMAO level of mice increased more than twofold after administration with choline for 3 weeks compared with L-carnitine and betaine groups, which was accompanied by the change of intestinal flora. After the gavage of choline chloride, the production for TMAO was 2.8 and 1.6 times higher in chronic choline-treated group compared with L-carnitine and betaine groups, respectively. In addition, administration with choline increased the lowest TMAO level after intraperitoneal injection of trimethylamine (TMA) hydrochloride among the three treated groups. These findings indicated that different TMAO precursors had different ability to form TMAO in vivo, and long-term dietary intervention would affect the metabolism of precursors to generate TMA and the TMA oxidation to form TMAO, suggesting that TMAO levels in vivo could be regulated by dietary intervention. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Diverse TMAO precursors exhibited different ability to be converted into TMAO in vivo. The ability of choline to produce TMAO was stronger than that of betaine and L-carnitine. Long-term dietary intervention would affect the metabolism of precursors to generate TMA and the TMA oxidation to form TMAO, suggesting that TMAO levels in vivo could be regulated by adjustment of dietary structure.

Relationship between structure and efficacy of sea cucumber saponins echinoside A and its derivatives on hemolytic activity and prevention of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

The hemolytic property discourages the development of sea cucumber saponins on alleviating lipids metabolism disturbance. The hemolytic activity of saponins has been reported to be highly correlative to their chemical structures. The aim of this study was to reduce the hemolytic activity of sea cucumber-derived saponins echinoside A (EA) and simultaneously remain its effect on alleviating non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) by structural modifications. Administration with EA and its derivatives for 8 weeks remarkably mitigated orotic acid-induced NAFLD via inhibiting the activities and mRNA expressions of enzymes involved in lipogenesis, enhancing the activities and expressions of enzymes related to hepatic lipolysis in a rat model. Importantly, aglycone exhibited a distinct advantage in stimulating hepatic lipolysis compared with EA and dsEA, meanwhile possessed lowest hemolytic activity. This study may provide the theoretical basis to strengthen the application of sea cucumber saponins as food supplements and/or functional ingredients.

A pilot study on the effects of DHA/EPA-enriched phospholipids on aerobic and anaerobic exercises in mice.

The beneficial effects of nonpolar DHA/EPA in triacylglycerol (TG) and ethyl ester (EE) forms as well as terrestrial phospholipids on physical fatigue have been widely reported. However, the results involving the effects were inconsistent, and the reason might be that the differences in physical fatigue induced by aerobic and anaerobic exercises were usually ignored. In addition, it has been reported the significant improvement of DHA/EPA esterified to phospholipids (DHA/EPA-PLs) on many fields but not physical fatigue. Therefore, the effects of DHA/EPA-PLs on physical fatigue induced by aerobic and anaerobic exercises were evaluated and compared with those of l-carnitine and astaxanthin using swimming and running exhaustion tests in mice, respectively. The results indicated that DHA/EPA-PLs and l-carnitine have significant effects on the performance of aerobic exercise, while astaxanthin had remarkable effects on the performance of anaerobic exercise. The possible underlying mechanisms indicated that DHA/EPA-PLs significantly promoted the carbohydrate and lipid metabolism as well as the mitochondrial respiratory chain and tricarboxylic acid cycle in muscles. The study presented a potential novel candidate or targeted dietary patterns for alleviating physical fatigue.