Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) is capable of synthesizing EPA and DHA in vivo, but the conversion rate is hard to meet the body's need for rapid DHA supplementation. Studies have shown that fucoxanthin can increase DHA content in the liver of mice, but the mechanism is not clear. Moreover, the effect of fucoxanthin and its metabolite fucoxanthinol on the chain lengthening reaction of n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) is little studied. In this study, the effects of fucoxanthin and fucoxanthinol on the chain elongation of n-3 and n-6 series PUFAs were investigated in mice. Results showed that fucoxanthin and fucoxanthinol significantly increased the conversion of n-3 series ALA to DHA and n-6 series LA to AA in the serum, liver, small intestine, and heart of mice. In addition, fucoxanthin accelerated the rate of DHA supplementation by ALA in the brain. Further mechanistic studies revealed that the role of fucoxanthin in promoting PUFAs conversion was not regulated at transcriptional level, but by increasing the activity of fatty acid desaturase 2 (FADS2), a key enzyme of chain elongation reaction of n-3 and n-6 PUFAs. This study fundamentally provided theoretical bases for a new strategy of dietary supplementation of n-3 and n-6 PUFAs.
Cholesterol was usually used to stabilize liposome, although there have been controversies on the relationship between dietary cholesterol and health. The present study aimed to prepare a novel multifunctional nanoliposomes stabilized by sea cucumber-derived saponins using ultrasound-assisted film dispersion method. A novel uniform liposome with a mass ratio of egg yolk lecithin/sea cucumber saponins at 75:25 was successfully prepared to encapsulate saponin, and the particle size was 164.8 ± 1.70 nm with a PDI value of 0.214 ± 0.022 and zeta potential of -15.97 ± 1.23 mV. The digestion and absorption results in vivo showed that the dietary saponins in liposome form could delay the peak time of saponins and prolong their residence time in the serum. Moreover, saponins were more easily converted into their corresponding metabolites after administration with saponins in the liposome form. The novel liposome as an efficient carrier with multiple functions had great potential in the development of functional food and biomedical applications.
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