Effects of Antarctic krill oil on lipid and glucose metabolism in C57BL/6J mice fed with high fat diet

Abstract

BackgroundObesity and other metabolic diseases have become epidemic which greatly affect human health. Diets with healthy nutrition are efficient means to prevent this epidemic occurrence. Novel food resources and process technology were needed for these purpose. In this study, Antarctic krill oil (KO) extracted from a dry krill by a procedure of hot pump dehydration in combined with freezing-drying was used to investigate health effect in animals including the growth, lipid and glucose metabolism.MethodsC57BL/6J mice were fed with a lard based high fat (HF) diet and substituted with KO for a period of 12 weeks in comparison with low fat normal control (NC) diet. Mice body weight and food consumption were recorded. Serum lipid metabolism - of C57BL/6J mice serum was measured. A glucose tolerance tests (GTTs) and pathology analysis of mice were performed at the end of the experiment.ResultsThe KO fed mice had less body weight gain, less fat accumulation in tissue such as adipose and liver. Dyslipidemia induced by high fat diet was partially improved by KO feeding with significant reduction of serum low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) content. Furthermore, KO feeding also improved glucose metabolism in C57BL/6J mice including a glucose tolerance of about 22% vs. 32% of AUC (area under the curve) for KO vs HF diet and the fast blood glucose level of 8.5 mmol/L, 9.8 mmol/L and 9.3 mmol/L for NC, HF and KO diet groups, respectively. In addition, KO feeding also reduced oxidative damage in liver with a decrease of malondialdehyde (MDA) content and increase of superoxide dismutase (SOD) content.ConclusionThis study provided evidence of the beneficial effects of KO on animal health from the processed technology, particularly on lipid and glucose metabolism. This study confirmed that as the Antarctic krill was extracted with a procedure of efficient energy, it might make it possible for Krill oil to be available for food industry.

Antarctic Krill (Euphausia superba) Oil: A Comprehensive Review of Chemical Composition, Extraction Technologies, Health Benefits, and Current Applications

“…At the highest dosage of 5% in diet, an increased serum adiponectin was also observed in krill oil-fed mice, supporting the anti-atherogenic properties of krill oil (Kadowaki et al, 2006;Lu et al, 2008;Tandy et al, 2009). Sun et al (2017b) also found that krill oil supplementation (5% in diet) for 12 weeks significantly reduced the serum TC and LDL-C contents (2.50 mol/L and 0.45 mol/L, respectively) in highfat-fed mice compared with the control group (3.70 mol/L and 0.65 mol/L, respectively). In addition, Batetta et al (2009) andZhu et al (2008) demonstrated that krill oil could decrease the TAG, TC, and LDL-C levels in high-fat-fed mice with related metabolic dysfunction.…”

“…Sun et al. () also found that krill oil supplementation (5% in diet) for 12 weeks significantly reduced the serum TC and LDL‐C contents (2.50 mol/L and 0.45 mol/L, respectively) in high‐fat‐fed mice compared with the control group (3.70 mol/L and 0.65 mol/L, respectively). In addition, Batetta et al.…”

“…Abnormal levels of TAG, total cholesterol (TC), high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL‐C), and low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL‐C) potentially increase the risks of CVD, and they have often been regarded as CVD risk factors (Papakonstantinou, Lambadiari, Dimitriadis, & Zampelas, ). Some studies were conducted in animal models to evaluate the effects of krill oil on these CVD risk factors in blood and tissues (Batetta et al., ; Hals, Wang, & Xiao, ; Sun et al., ; Tandy et al., ; Zhu, Shi, Qian, Cai, & Li, ). An 8‐week feeding trial supplemented with 1.25%, 2.50%, or 5.00% krill oil in diet showed that the krill oil‐containing diet significantly reduced hepatic TG and TC levels, as well as decreased the serum TG in high‐fat‐fed mice (Tandy et al., ).…”

“…Elevated levels of AEA and 2‐AG were observed in the tissues of obese subjects (Batetta et al., ; Di Marzo et al., ). Diets containing krill oil were shown to be effective in lowering the concentrations of AEA and 2‐AG in heart, kidneys, gastrocnemius muscle, inguinal and epididymal adipose tissue in the high‐fat‐fed C57BL/6 mice (Batetta et al., ; Piscitelli et al., ), as well as decreasing body weight gains in hyperlipidemic rats (Zhu et al., ) and obese mice (Sun et al., ; Yang et al., ). The n‐3 PUFAs have been widely demonstrated to decrease the biosynthesis of arachidonic acid (ARA) and its incorporation into PLs, thus potentially reducing the amounts of biosynthetic precursors for AEA and 2‐AG (Matias et al., ).…”

“…. Some studies were conducted in animal models to evaluate the effects of krill oil on these CVD risk factors in blood and tissues (Batetta et al, 2009;Hals, Wang, & Xiao, 2017;Sun et al, 2017b;Tandy et al, 2009;Zhu, Shi, Qian, Cai, & Li, 2008). An 8-week feeding trial supplemented with 1.25%, 2.50%, or 5.00% krill oil in diet showed that the krill oil-containing diet significantly reduced hepatic TG and TC levels, as well as decreased the serum TG in high-fat-fed mice (Tandy et al, 2009).…”