Effect of Supplementation with Docosahexaenoic Acid Ethyl Ester and sn-2 Docosahexaenyl Monoacylglyceride on Plasma and Erythrocyte Fatty Acids in Rats

Abstract

Background/Aims: Docosahexaenoic acid (C22:6, DHA) is an omega-3 fatty acid required for the normal development of the mammalian nervous and visual system. DHA is provided by the mother during pregnancy and lactating period. Mother’s DHA supplementation during pregnancy, and even before pregnancy, has been suggested. DHA can be provided by marine oils, egg’s yolk phospholipids, single cell algae oils, the pure fatty acid, or by the ethyl ester derivative (DHA-EE). Another way to provide DHA can be by sn-2 docosahexaenyl monoacylglyceride (DHA-MG), obtained by the treatment of fish oil with stereospecific lipases. sn-2 Fatty acid monoacylglycerides can be more easily absorbed at the intestine than other fatty acid derivatives. Methods: Female rats fed with a synthetic, which provided essentially no DHA, received a 40-day supplementation of either DHA-EE or DHA-MG. Plasma and erythrocyte fatty acid composition were assessed by gas chromatography at day 0 and 40 of supplementation. Results: DHA-EE increased plasma and erythrocyte DHA by 15 and 11.9%, respectively, with no modification of arachidonic acid (AA) content. DHA-MG supplementation increased plasma and erythrocyte DHA by 24 and 23.8%, respectively, but reduced AA by 5.5 and 3%, respectively. Conclusions: We conclude that in the rat, DHA-MG supplementation allows a higher plasma and erythrocyte DHA content than DHA-EE with minor modification of AA content.

Monoacylglycerol-enriched oil increases EPA/DHA delivery to circulatory system in humans with induced lipid malabsorption conditions

“…In subjects who have undergone major GI surgery, LC-PUFA supplementation has been shown to reduce concentrations of inflammatory biomarkers and to shorten hospital length of stay (11,12). According to previous studies, EFAs delivered as MAG have been reported to be better absorbed than EFAs delivered as TAG (18)(19)(20)(21). Moreover, previous studies have reported that FAs at the sn-2 position are more efficiently absorbed by the intestine.…”

“…Therefore, sn-2 molecules present a possible approach to enhance EFA absorption in malabsorption conditions. However, a challenge with sn-2 structures is that they are not very stable and easily undergo isomerization to form sn-1-(3)-MAG structures, which are hydrolyzed by luminal lipases to FFA and a glycerol molecule (19)(20)(21).…”

Organisation structurale et moléculaire des lipides dans les aliments : impacts possibles sur leur digestion et leur assimilation par l’Homme

“…Contrairement aux r esultats des etudes appr eciant les evolutions de lipides plasmatiques, les etudes d'incorporation de ces AG aux organes cibles chez l'animal confirment avec certitude l'efficacit e des PL comme transporteurs comme cela a et e d emontr e sur le cerveau de souris avec l'acide linol eique (Werner et al, 2004), le DHA dans les erythrocytes du rat (Valenzuela et al, 2005) et l'AA dans le cerveau chez le babouin (Wijendran et al, 2002). Dans un mod ele d'hypoxie exp erimentale chez le rat, la suppl ementation avec du DHA sous forme PL d'oeuf a permis, contrairement a un apport sous forme de TAG d'algues, une conservation partielle des capacit es respiratoires visualis ees a la fois en termes d'endurance a l'effort et en termes d'activit e des param etres de la chaîne respiratoire (Tardieu et al, 2009d'apr es Pieroni et Coste, 2010.…”

Lipase-catalyzed glycerolysis of fish oil to obtain diacylglycerols

“…EPA and DHA can be consumed as acylglycerols for better absorption and less susceptibility to oxidation compared to its free fatty acid form. Recently , it has been reported that the DHA level in the erythrocytes and plasma in rats increased when they were fed DHA-high content monoacylglycerols (MAG), compared to those fed with DHA-ethyl esters (Valenzuela et al, 2005).…”