Issue 7, 2019

Eicosapentaenoic acid in the form of phospholipids exerts superior anti-atherosclerosis effects to its triglyceride form in ApoE−/− mice

Abstract

Dietary eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), a main component of fish oil, has been proved to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the anti-atherosclerosis effect of fish oil enriched with EPA partially relied on its chemical groups at the sn-3 position. Male ApoE−/− mice were divided into three groups and were fed a high-fat diet (Model) or a high-fat diet containing EPA incorporated into phospholipids (EPA-PL) or triglycerides (EPA-TG), respectively. Compared with the model group, a decrease in the area of atherosclerosis lesions at the aorta was observed in both EPA-treated groups, in which EPA-PL was superior to EPA-TG. Notably, EPA-PL exhibited lower serum and hepatic lipid levels than the model group, whereas EPA-TG only reduced the hepatic triglyceride level. Interestingly, only EPA-PL treatment regulated the expression of genes involved in cholesterol metabolism. In addition, EPA-PL and EPA-TG suppressed the inflammation markers in the aorta and circulation. In conclusion, EPA-PL was superior to EPA-TG in reducing lesion progression by modulating the hepatic lipid metabolism, as well as decreasing the inflammation in the artery wall and circulatory system, which might be attributed to their structural differences at the sn-3 position.

Graphical abstract: Eicosapentaenoic acid in the form of phospholipids exerts superior anti-atherosclerosis effects to its triglyceride form in ApoE−/− mice

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
25 Apr 2019
Accepted
11 Jun 2019
First published
13 Jun 2019

Food Funct., 2019,10, 4177-4188

Eicosapentaenoic acid in the form of phospholipids exerts superior anti-atherosclerosis effects to its triglyceride form in ApoE−/− mice

L. Zhang, L. Ding, H. Shi, J. Xu, C. Xue, T. Zhang and Y. Wang, Food Funct., 2019, 10, 4177 DOI: 10.1039/C9FO00868C

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements