Functional foods lipids: unraveling their role in the immune response in obesity.

Functional lipids are lipids that are found in food matrices and play an important role in influencing human health as their role goes beyond energy storage and structural components. Ongoing research into functional lipids has highlighted their potential to modulate immune responses and other mechanisms associated with obesity, along with its comorbidities. These lipids represent a new field that may offer new therapeutic and preventive strategies for these diseases by understanding their contribution to health. In this review, we discussed in-depth the potential food sources of functional lipids and their reported potential benefit of the major lipid classification: based on their composition such as simple, compound, and derived lipids, and based on their function such as storage and structural, by investigating the intricate mechanisms through which these lipids interact in the human body. We summarize the key insights into the bioaccessibility and bioavailability of the most studied functional lipids. Furthermore, we review the main immunomodulatory mechanisms reported in the literature in the past years. Finally, we discuss the perspectives and challenges faced in the food industry related to functional lipids.

Functional lipids are immunomodulatory agents in chronic non-communicable diseases.Bioaccessibility and bioavailability depend mainly on the lipid profile and the matrix food.Incorporation of polyunsaturated fat in foods is a current technological challenge.Emerging technologies are good options for extracting functional lipids efficiently.Nanotechnology plays an important role in developing food delivery systems.Food delivery systems improve the bioavailability of functional lipids.

Polyphenol Bioaccessibility and Antioxidant Activity of Pomegranate (Punica granatum) Peel Supplementation in Diet-Induced Obese Rats.

Fruit by-products are a source of biocompounds with antioxidant properties and potential role in the obesity treatment. This study aimed to assess the effect of pomegranate (Punica granatum) peel (PP) supplementation on the total antioxidant capacity (TAC) in diet-induced obese rats. Thus, an in vitro gastrointestinal digestion was performed to evaluate the total phenolic content (TPC) and the antioxidant capacity of PP. Moreover, 15 male Wistar rats were randomized into three groups: control diet (CTL; 3.35 kcal/g), cafeteria (CAF) diet (3.72 kcal/g), and CAF diet supplemented with PP (CAF + PP; 200 mg/kg body weight; 3.72 kcal/g). Serum TAC was analyzed by ferric reducing antioxidant power and 2,2-Diphenil-1-picrylhydrazil assay. TPC in PP accounted for 8.82 ± 0.14 mg GAE/g in undigested samples. However, an in vitro digestion process was decreased by 94% the bioaccessibility of PP phenolic compounds in the intestinal phase, while PP supplementation increased serum TAC in diet-induced obese rats. Therefore, although PP phenolic compounds diminished after an in vitro digestion process, antioxidant effect was found in obese rats supplemented with PP.

Characterization of the Cafeteria Diet as Simulation of the Human Western Diet and Its Impact on the Lipidomic Profile and Gut Microbiota in Obese Rats.

The obesity pandemic has been strongly associated with the Western diet, characterized by the consumption of ultra-processed foods. The Western lifestyle causes gut dysbiosis leading to impaired fatty acid metabolism. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate shifts in gut microbiota and correlate these with serum fatty acid profiles in male Wistar rats fed a cafeteria diet. Ten male rats were fed with standard diet (CTL, n = 5) and cafeteria diet (CAF, n = 5) for fifteen weeks. Body weight and food intake were recorded once and three times per week, respectively. At the end of the study, fresh fecal samples were collected, tissues were removed, and serum samples were obtained for further analyses. Gut microbiota was analyzed by sequencing the V3-V4 region of 16S rRNA gene. Serum fatty acid profiles were fractioned and quantified via gas chromatography. The CAF diet induced an obese phenotype accompanied by impaired serum fatty acids, finding significantly higher proportions of total saturated fatty acids (SFAs) and C20:3 n-6, and lower C18:1 n-7 and C18:3 n-3 in the phospholipid (PL) fraction. Furthermore, circulating C10:0, total n-3 and n-7 decreased and total monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs), including oleic acid C18:1 n-9, increased in the cholesterol ester (CE) fraction. The obesity metabotype may be mediated by gut dysbiosis caused by a cafeteria diet rich in C16:0, C18:0, C18:1 n-9 and C18:2 n-6 fatty acids resulting in a 34:1 omega-6/omega-3 ratio. Therefore, circulating C10:0 was associated with several genera bacteria such as Prevotella (positive) and Anaerotruncus (negative). Two classes of Firmicutes, Bacilli and Erysipelotrichi, were positively correlated with PL- C20:3 n-6 and CE- 18:1 n-9, respectively. TM7 and Bacteroidetes were inversely correlated with PL-SFAs and CE- 18:2 n-6, respectively.