Modification of Palm Oil for Anti‐Inflammatory Nutraceutical Properties

Abstract

Palm oil is one of the most important edible oils in the world. Its composition (rich in palmitate and oleate) make it suitable for general food uses but its utility could be increased if its fatty acid quality could be varied. In this study, we have modified a palm olein fraction by transesterification with the n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, alpha-linolenate or eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). Evaluation of the potential nutritional efficacy of the oils was made using chondrocyte culture systems which can be used to mimic many of the degenerative and inflammatory pathways involved in arthritis. On stimulation of such cultures with interleukin-1alpha, they showed increased expression of cyclooxygenase-2, the inflammatory cytokines tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), IL-1alpha and IL-1beta and the proteinase ADAMTS-4. This increased expression was not affected by challenge of the cultures with palm olein alone but showed concentration-dependent reduction by the modified oil in a manner similar to EPA. These results show clearly that it is possible to modify palm oil conveniently to produce a nutraceutical with effective anti-inflammatory properties.

Rice Bran Oil Attenuates Chronic Inflammation by Inducing M2 Macrophage Switching in High-Fat Diet-Fed Obese Mice

“…Interestingly, PO did not affect the expression of macrophage polarization markers but significantly reduced IL-6 and TNF-α production in the inflammatory M1 microenvironment (Figures 4 and 5). In this regard, several previous studies have demonstrated that palm oil has anti-inflammatory effects [40][41][42][43]. Those studies focused on specific components of palm oil, such as δ-tocotrienol, whereas we used whole palm oil in our high-fat diet-induced obese mice model.…”

Combination of low dose major n3 PUFAs in fresh water mussel lipid is an alternative of EPA–DHA supplementation in inflammatory conditions of arthritis and LPS stimulated macrophages

“…These studies were largely focused on the efficiency of fish oil supplementation, which, in practice, is the supplementation of EPA-DHA combination. However, studies with individual fatty acids, or fatty acids in combinations other than EPA-DHA, such as fish oil-olive oil or EPA esterified palm oil, has shown interesting results [25][26][27]. These findings have established the potential of LC n3 PUFAs in combinations other than that of fish oil.…”