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Frontiers in Public Health 2022This study aimed to investigate the association of α-linolenic acid (ALA; 18:3 ω-3) dietary intake with very short sleep duration (<5 h) in adults based on the CDC's...
OBJECTIVES
This study aimed to investigate the association of α-linolenic acid (ALA; 18:3 ω-3) dietary intake with very short sleep duration (<5 h) in adults based on the CDC's National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data.
METHODS
Multinomial logistic regression was used to explore the association of ALA intake with very short sleep. To make the estimation more robust, bootstrap methods of 1,000 replications were performed. Rolling window method was used to investigate the trend of the odds ratios of very short sleep with age. A Kruskal-Wallis test was applied to estimate the differences in the ORs of very short sleep between genders and different age groups.
RESULTS
Compared with the first tertile, the ORs of very short sleep and the corresponding 95% CIs for the second and the third tertile of dietary ALA intake in males were 0.618 (0.612, 0.624) and 0.544 (0.538, 0.551), respectively, and in females were 0.575 (0.612, 0.624) and 0.432 (0.427, 0.437). In most cases, the differences between different ages were more significant than those between different sexes. Men's very short sleep odds ratios for the second tertile of ALA intake increased linearly with age before 60.
CONCLUSIONS
The risk of a very short sleep duration was negatively related to the dietary intake of ALA. The effect of ALA on very short sleep is significantly different among groups of different genders and ages.
Topics: Adult; Diet; Eating; Female; Humans; Male; Nutrition Surveys; Sleep; alpha-Linolenic Acid
PubMed: 36062128
DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.986424 -
Life Sciences Jan 2024Metabolic syndrome (MetS), which is characterized by insulin resistance, high blood glucose, obesity, and dyslipidemia, is known to increase the risk of dementia... (Review)
Review
Metabolic syndrome (MetS), which is characterized by insulin resistance, high blood glucose, obesity, and dyslipidemia, is known to increase the risk of dementia accompanied by memory loss and depression. The direct pathways and specific mechanisms in the central nervous system (CNS) for addressing fatty acid imbalances in MetS have not yet been fully elucidated. Among polyunsaturated acids, linoleic acid (LA, n6-PUFA) and α-linolenic acid (ALA, n3-PUFA), which are two essential fatty acids that should be provided by food sources (e.g., vegetable oils and seeds), have been reported to regulate various cellular mechanisms including apoptosis, inflammatory responses, mitochondrial biogenesis, and insulin signaling. Furthermore, inadequate intake of LA and ALA is reported to be involved in neuropathology and neuropsychiatric diseases as well as imbalanced metabolic conditions. Herein, we review the roles of LA and ALA on metabolic-related dementia focusing on insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, synaptic plasticity, cognitive function, and neuropsychiatric issues. This review suggests that LA and ALA are important fatty acids for concurrent treatment of both MetS and neurological problems.
Topics: Humans; Linoleic Acid; alpha-Linolenic Acid; Insulin Resistance; Fatty Acids; Cognitive Dysfunction; Dyslipidemias; Dementia
PubMed: 38123015
DOI: 10.1016/j.lfs.2023.122356 -
Plants (Basel, Switzerland) Apr 2022, also termed as purple mint, Chinese basil, or mint, is a flavoring herb widely used in East Asia. Both crude oil and essential oil are employed for consumption as... (Review)
Review
, also termed as purple mint, Chinese basil, or mint, is a flavoring herb widely used in East Asia. Both crude oil and essential oil are employed for consumption as well as industrial purposes. Fatty acids (FAs) biosynthesis and oil body assemblies in have been extensively investigated over the last three decades. Recent advances have been made in order to reveal the enzymes involved in the fatty acid biosynthesis in . Among those fatty acids, alpha-linolenic acid retained the attention of scientists mainly due to its medicinal and nutraceutical properties. Lipids synthesis in exhibited similarities with lipids' pathway. The homologous coding genes for polyunsaturated fatty acid desaturases, transcription factors, and major acyl-related enzymes have been found in via de novo transcriptome profiling, genome-wide association study, and in silico whole-genome screening. The identified genes covered de novo fatty acid synthesis, acyl-CoA dependent Kennedy pathway, acyl-CoA independent pathway, Triacylglycerols (TAGs) assembly, and acyl editing of phosphatidylcholine. In addition to the enzymes, transcription factors including , , , and have been suggested. Meanwhile, the epigenome aspect impacting the transcriptional regulation of FAs is still unclear and might require more attention from the scientific community. This review mainly outlines the identification of the key gene master players involved in FAs biosynthesis and TAGs assembly that have been identified in recent years. With the recent advances in genomics resources regarding this orphan crop, we provided an updated overview of the recent contributions into the comprehension of the genetic background of fatty acid biosynthesis. The provided resources can be useful for further usage in oil-bioengineering and the design of alpha-linolenic acid-boosted in the future.
PubMed: 35567213
DOI: 10.3390/plants11091207 -
Microbial Pathogenesis Feb 2020Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), an important component of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), possesses potent anti-inflammatory properties. To date, the effects of ALA on...
Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), an important component of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), possesses potent anti-inflammatory properties. To date, the effects of ALA on acute lung injury (ALI) remains unknown. This study was designed to investigate the potential protective effects of ALA on LPS-induced ALI and the underpinning mechanisms. An animal model of ALI was established via intratracheally injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 1 mg/kg). We found that lung wet/dry weight ratio and protein concentration in Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were dramatically decreased by ALA pretreatment. Treatment with ALA significantly alleviated the infiltration of total cells and neutrophils, while increased the number of the macrophages. ALA significantly inhibited the secretion of proinflammatory cytokines including tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and increased anti-inflammatory cytokine. Moreover, we found that the levels of myeloperoxidase (MPO) and malondialdehyde (MDA) were highly increased in LPS-induced ALI, while the activities of glutathione (GSH) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) were decreased, which were reversed by ALA. ALA attenuated LPS-induced histopathological changes and apoptosis. Furthermore, ALA significantly inhibited the phosphorylation of IκBα and NF-κB (p65) activation in ALI. ALA showed anti-inflammatory effects in mice with LPS-induced ALI. NF-κB pathway may be involved in ALA mediated protective effects.
PubMed: 32084579
DOI: 10.1016/j.micpath.2020.104077 -
Nutrients Mar 2020α-Linolenic acid (ALA) is well-known for its anti-inflammatory activity. In contrast, the influence of an ALA-rich diet on intestinal microbiota composition and its...
α-Linolenic acid (ALA) is well-known for its anti-inflammatory activity. In contrast, the influence of an ALA-rich diet on intestinal microbiota composition and its impact on small intestine morphology are not fully understood. In the current study, we kept adult C57BL/6J mice for 4 weeks on an ALA-rich or control diet. Characterization of the microbial composition of the small intestine revealed that the ALA diet was associated with an enrichment in and . In contrast, taxa belonging to the Firmicutes phylum, including , cluster XIVa, Lachnospiraceae and , had significantly lower abundance compared to control diet. Metagenome prediction indicated an enrichment in functional pathways such as bacterial secretion system in the ALA group, whereas the two-component system and ALA metabolism pathways were downregulated. We also observed increased levels of ALA and its metabolites eicosapentanoic and docosahexanoic acid, but reduced levels of arachidonic acid in the intestinal tissue of ALA-fed mice. Furthermore, intestinal morphology in the ALA group was characterized by elongated villus structures with increased counts of epithelial cells and reduced epithelial proliferation rate. Interestingly, the ALA diet reduced relative goblet and Paneth cell counts. Of note, high-fat Western-type diet feeding resulted in a comparable adaptation of the small intestine. Collectively, our study demonstrates the impact of ALA on the gut microbiome and reveals the nutritional regulation of gut morphology.
Topics: Animal Feed; Animals; Biodiversity; Fatty Acids; Feces; Food Analysis; Gastrointestinal Microbiome; Immunohistochemistry; Intestinal Mucosa; Intestine, Small; Lipid Metabolism; Male; Metagenome; Metagenomics; Mice; alpha-Linolenic Acid
PubMed: 32168729
DOI: 10.3390/nu12030732 -
Journal of Oleo Science Nov 2021Physicochemical properties and chemical composition of Chinese perilla seed oil has been characterized in this study. The result showed that both the cold press oil and...
Physicochemical properties and chemical composition of Chinese perilla seed oil has been characterized in this study. The result showed that both the cold press oil and the solvent extracted oil possessed low acid value and peroxide value. The fatty acid composition result showed that the oil has high content of linolenic acid (C18:3) up to 66.4 g/100 g, followed by linoleic acid (C18:2) of 15.3 g/100 g. The total triacylglycerol (TAG) profiles results showed that the oil contained 20 TAGs including 17 regioisomers, including LnLnLn (35.8 g/100 g), LLnLn (20.2 g/100 g), LLLn (17.7 g/100 g) and PLnLn (14.9 g/100 g) (Ln, linolenic acid; L, linoleic acid; P, palmitic acid). With content of only 0.57 g/100 g oil, the unsaponifiable matters were mainly composed of phytosterols, squalene, tocopherol, alcohols and hydrocarbons. The total phytosterols content was 0.39 g/100 g oil, in which β-sitosterol has high content of 0.31 g/100 g oil.
Topics: Alcohols; Antioxidants; Chemical Phenomena; Hydrocarbons; Isomerism; Linoleic Acid; Liquid-Liquid Extraction; Palmitic Acid; Perilla frutescens; Phytosterols; Plant Oils; Squalene; Tocopherols; Triglycerides; alpha-Linolenic Acid
PubMed: 34645745
DOI: 10.5650/jos.ess21076 -
Nutrients Dec 2023Oral cancer ranks sixth among Taiwan's top 10 cancers and most patients with poor prognosis acquire metastases. The essential fatty acid alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) has...
Oral cancer ranks sixth among Taiwan's top 10 cancers and most patients with poor prognosis acquire metastases. The essential fatty acid alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) has been found to diminish many cancer properties. However, the anti-cancer activity of ALA in oral cancer has yet to be determined. We examined the mechanisms underlying ALA inhibition of metastasis and induction of apoptotic cell death in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Migration and invasion assays confirmed the cancer cells' EMT capabilities, whereas flow cytometry and Western blotting identified molecular pathways in OSCC. ALA dramatically reduced cell growth in a concentration-dependent manner according to the findings. Low concentrations of ALA (100 or 200 μM) inhibit colony formation, the expression of Twist and EMT-related proteins, the expression of MMP2/-9 proteins, and enzyme activity, as well as cell migration and invasion. Treatment with high concentrations of ALA (200 or 400 μM) greatly increases JNK phosphorylation and c-jun nuclear accumulation and then upregulates the FasL/caspase8/caspase3 and Bid/cytochrome c/caspase9/caspase3 pathways, leading to cell death. Low concentrations of ALA inhibit SAS and GNM cell migration and invasion by suppressing Twist and downregulating EMT-related proteins or by decreasing the protein expression and enzyme activity of MMP-2/-9, whereas high concentrations of ALA promote apoptosis by activating the JNK/FasL/caspase 8/caspase 3-extrinsic pathway and the Bid/cytochrome c/caspase 9 pathway. ALA demonstrates potential as a treatment for OSCC patients.
Topics: Humans; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell; Mouth Neoplasms; Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck; alpha-Linolenic Acid; Cytochromes c; Cell Line, Tumor; Apoptosis; Cell Proliferation; Head and Neck Neoplasms; Cell Movement; Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition
PubMed: 38068849
DOI: 10.3390/nu15234992 -
Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis :... Feb 2022Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a genetic hemoglobinopathy associated with high morbidity and mortality. The primary cause of hospitalization in SCD is vaso-occlusive...
BACKGROUND
Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a genetic hemoglobinopathy associated with high morbidity and mortality. The primary cause of hospitalization in SCD is vaso-occlusive crisis (VOC), mediated by alteration of red blood cells, platelets, immune cells and a pro-adhesive endothelium.
OBJECTIVES
We investigated the potential therapeutic use of the plant-derived omega-3 alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) in SCD.
METHODS
Berkeley mice were fed a low- or high-ALA diet for 4 weeks, followed by analysis of liver fibrosis, endothelial activation, platelet activation and formation of platelet-neutrophils aggregates. Aggregation of platelets over collagen under flow after high-ALA was compared to a blocking P-selectin Fab.
RESULTS
Dietary high-ALA was able to reduce the number of sickle cells in blood smear, liver fibrosis, and the expression of adhesion molecules on the endothelium of aorta, lungs, liver and kidneys (VCAM-1, ICAM-1 and vWF). Specific parameters of platelet activation were blunted after high-ALA feeding, notably P-selectin exposure and the formation of neutrophil-platelet aggregates, along with a correspondingly reduced expression of PSGL-1 on neutrophils. By comparison, in vivo treatment of SCD mice with the anti-P-selectin Fab was able to similarly reduce the formation of neutrophil-platelet aggregates, but did not reduce GpIbα shedding nor the activation of the α β integrin in response to thrombin. Both ALA feeding and P-selectin blocking significantly reduced collagen-mediated cell adhesion under flow.
CONCLUSIONS
Dietary ALA is able to reduce the pro-inflammatory and pro-thrombotic state occurring in the SCD mouse model and may represent a novel, inexpensive and readily available therapeutic strategy for SCD.
Topics: Anemia, Sickle Cell; Animals; Cell Adhesion; Collagen; Diet; Mice; Platelet Activation; alpha-Linolenic Acid
PubMed: 34758193
DOI: 10.1111/jth.15581 -
Nutrients Feb 2022α-Lactalbumin (BLA) and β-lactoglobulin (BLG) are the major whey proteins causing allergic reactions. Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) stand among the extrinsic...
α-Lactalbumin (BLA) and β-lactoglobulin (BLG) are the major whey proteins causing allergic reactions. Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) stand among the extrinsic factors of the food matrix that can bind BLA and BLG and change their bioactivities, but their contribution to change the allergenic properties of these proteins has not been investigated. Here, we aimed to determine how PUFAs influence BLA and BLG to sensitize and trigger allergic responses in BALB/c mice. First, tricine-SDS-PAGE and spectroscopic assays identified that α-linolenic acid (ALA, as a proof-of-concept model) can induce BLA and BLG to form cross-linked complexes and substantially modify their conformation. Then, BALB/c mice ( = 10/group) were orally sensitized and challenged with BLA and BLG or ALA-interacted BLA and BLG, respectively. Allergic reactions upon oral challenge were determined by measuring clinical allergic signs, specific antibodies, levels of type-1/2 cytokines, the status of mast cell activation, and percentage of cell populations (B and T cells) in different tissues (PP, MLN, and spleen). Overall, systemic allergic reaction was promoted in mice gavage with ALA-interacted BLA and BLG by disrupting the Th1/Th2 balance toward a Th2 immune response with the decreased number of Tregs. Enhanced induction of Th2-related cytokines, as well as serum-specific antibodies and mast cell activation, was also observed. In this study, we validated that ALA in the food matrix promoted both the sensitization and elicitation of allergic reactions in BALB/c mice.
Topics: Animals; Cattle; Female; Mice; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Milk; Milk Hypersensitivity; Milk Proteins; Whey Proteins; alpha-Linolenic Acid
PubMed: 35215473
DOI: 10.3390/nu14040822 -
Frontiers in Endocrinology 2022Tumor metabolism is important for cancer progression. Nevertheless, the role of the metabolism pathway and related molecules in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is limited.
BACKGROUND
Tumor metabolism is important for cancer progression. Nevertheless, the role of the metabolism pathway and related molecules in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is limited.
METHODS
Open-accessed data was downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas database. All the analysis was performed using the R software and the package in R environments.
RESULTS
In our study, we firstly explored the role of 21 metabolism-related pathways in NPC patients. We found that the steroid biosynthesis and biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids were risk factors, while the alpha linolenic acid metabolism was a protective factor. Then, the alpha linolenic acid metabolism aroused our interest. A total of 128 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified, including 71 downregulated and 57 upregulated genes identified between high and low alpha linolenic acid metabolism level. Based on these DEGs, we constructed a prognosis model including DEFB4B, FOXL2NB, MDGA2, RTL1, SLURP2, TMEM151B and TSPAN19, which showed great prediction efficiency in both training and validation cohorts. Clinical correlation analysis showed that high-risk patients might have worse clinical pathology parameters. Pathway enrichment analysis showed that riskscore was positively correlated with angiogenesis, DNA repair, G2/M checkpoints, IL6/JAK/STAT3 signaling, KRAS signaling up, WNT beta-catenin signaling, PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling, yet positively correlated with inflammatory response, xenobiotic metabolism, TNF-α signaling NFKB and interferon-gamma response. Immune infiltration analysis showed that the riskscore was positively correlated with the M2 and M0 macrophages, but negatively correlated with neutrophils, plasma cells, follicular helper T cells and resting dendritic cells Moreover, we found that the low-risk patients might be more sensitive to immunotherapy and lapatinib.
CONCLUSIONS
In all, our study identified the genes associated with alpha linolenic acid metabolism and constructed an effective prognosis model which could robustly predict NPC patients prognosis.
Topics: Gene Expression Profiling; Humans; Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma; Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases; Prognosis; Tumor Microenvironment; alpha-Linolenic Acid
PubMed: 35992141
DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2022.968984