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Plant Diversity Feb 2021Nervonic acid (NA, cis-15-tetracosenoic acid) is a very long-chain monounsaturated fatty acid that has been shown to be a core component of nerve fibers and nerve cells....
Nervonic acid (NA, cis-15-tetracosenoic acid) is a very long-chain monounsaturated fatty acid that has been shown to be a core component of nerve fibers and nerve cells. It can be used to treat and prevent many neurological diseases. At present, commercially available NA is mainly derived from seeds, which contain about 5%-6% NA in their seed oil. The aim of this study were to identify and analyze NA-containing species that could be used as NA resource plants. For this purpose, 46 species seeds were collected in China and in some or all of the seed oils from these species 15 fatty acids were detected, including linoleic acid, oleic acid (C18:1, C18:1), erucic acid, palmitic acid, NA, linolenic acid (C18:3, C18:3), eicosenoic acid (C20:1, C20:1), stearic acid, behenic acid, tetracosanoic acid, arachidic acid, and docosadienoic acid. Nervonic acid was detected in all samples, but the content was highly variable among species. NA content over 9% was detected in eleven species, of which had the highest levels (13.90%). The seed oil content, seed weight, and fatty acid profiles varied among species, but the comprehensive evaluation value (W) showed that could be a new potential NA resources plant. The results also showed that NA was significantly negatively correlated with palmitic acid, oleic acid, and eicosenoic acid, but positively correlated with eicosadienoic acid, behenic acid, erucic acid, and tetracosanoic acid, which indicate the probable pathway for NA biosynthesis in plants. This study has identified species that may serve as NA resources and will help guide subsequent species breeding programs.
PubMed: 33778229
DOI: 10.1016/j.pld.2020.10.003 -
Scientific Reports Mar 2021Enhanced oxidative stress is a contributing factor in the pathogenesis of several neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer´s disease. Beneficial effects have been...
Enhanced oxidative stress is a contributing factor in the pathogenesis of several neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer´s disease. Beneficial effects have been demonstrated for medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs) nutritionally administered as medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) or coconut oil (CO). The observed effects on cognitive impairment are generally attributed to the hepatic metabolism of MCFAs, where resulting ketone bodies serve as an alternate energy source to compensate for the impaired glucose utilisation in the human brain. Here we show that the saturated MCFA decanoic acid (10:0) reduces the oxidative stress level in two different neuroblastoma cell lines. Phosphatidylcholine (PC) containing decanoic acid (10:0) (PC10:0/10:0) reduced the cellular HO release in comparison to solvent, L-α-Glycerophosphorylcholine and PC containing the long-chain fatty acid (LCFA) arachidic acid (20:0). This effect seems to be at least partially based on an upregulation of catalase activity, independent of alterations in catalase gene expression. Further, PC10:0/10:0 decreased the intracellular oxidative stress level and attenuated the HO-induced cell death. It did not affect the level of the ketone body β-hydroxybutyrate (βHB). These results indicate that decanoic acid (10:0) and possibly MCFAs in general directly reduce oxidative stress levels independent of ketone levels and thus may promote neuronal health.
Topics: Animals; Cell Line, Tumor; Decanoic Acids; Fatty Acids; Humans; Lipid Metabolism; Mice; Neuroblastoma; Oxidative Stress; Triglycerides
PubMed: 33731759
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-85523-9 -
Cancer Prevention Research... Jun 2021Novel biomarkers for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) surveillance in patients with cirrhosis are urgently needed. We previously identified osteopontin (OPN) as a... (Observational Study)
Observational Study
Novel biomarkers for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) surveillance in patients with cirrhosis are urgently needed. We previously identified osteopontin (OPN) as a promising biomarker for the early detection of HCC. This study is to further validate the performance of OPN and identify fatty acids (FA) that could improve OPN's performance in HCC risk assessment in patients with cirrhosis. To that end, we selected 103 patients with cirrhosis under surveillance. Among them, 40 patients developed HCC during follow-up. We investigated in these 103 patients, the association between HCC incidence and prediagnostic serum levels of AFP, OPN, and 46 FAs. OPN performance was higher than AFP in detecting prediagnosis HCCs and the combination with AFP further improved OPN's performance. For patients with a diagnosis of HCC within 18 months of follow-up (HCC < 18 months), AUC for OPN + AFP was 0.77. Abundance of 11 FAs [four long-chain saturated FAs (SFA), four n-3 poly-unsaturated FAs (PUFA), and three n-6 PUFAs] were statistically different between patients who developed HCC and those who did not. Abundance changes correlated with time to diagnosis for the PUFAs, but not for the SFAs. Adding arachidic acid (20:0) and n-3 docosapentaenoic acid (22:5n3) to OPN and AFP improved the discriminatory performance (AUC = 0.83). AUC for this panel reached 0.87 for HCC < 18 months (82% sensitivity at 81% specificity). In conclusion, we identified a panel of 4 markers with strong performances that could have significant utility in HCC early detection in patients with cirrhosis under surveillance. PREVENTION RELEVANCE: This study identified a panel of 4 biomarkers that identifies with high performance patients with cirrhosis at high risk for HCC. This panel could have utility in HCC early detection in patients with cirrhosis under surveillance.
Topics: Adult; Aged; Biomarkers, Tumor; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular; Case-Control Studies; Early Detection of Cancer; Feasibility Studies; Follow-Up Studies; Humans; Incidence; Liver Cirrhosis; Liver Neoplasms; Male; Middle Aged; ROC Curve; Risk Assessment; Watchful Waiting
PubMed: 33685927
DOI: 10.1158/1940-6207.CAPR-20-0600 -
Journal of Dairy Science May 2021The digital cushion is an essential part of maintaining a healthy foot, working to dissipate foot strike and body weight forces and lameness from claw horn disruption...
The digital cushion is an essential part of maintaining a healthy foot, working to dissipate foot strike and body weight forces and lameness from claw horn disruption lesions. Despite the importance of the digital cushion, little is known about the basic anatomy, adipocyte morphology, and fatty acid composition in relation to age, limb position, and body condition score. In total, 60 claws (from 17 cows) were selected and collected from a herd, ensuring that body condition score data and computed micro-tomography were known for each animal. Digital cushion tissue underwent histological staining combined with stereology, systematic random sampling, and cell morphology analysis, in addition to lipid extraction followed by fatty acid analysis. The results describe digital cushion architecture and adipocyte sizes. Adipocyte size was similar across all 4 claws (distal left lateral and medial and distal right lateral and medial) and across the ages (aged 2-7 yr); however, animals with body condition score of 3.00 or more at slaughter had a significantly increased cell size in comparison to those with a score of less than 2.50. Of 37 fatty acid methyl esters identified, 5 differed between either the body condition score or different age groups. C10:0 capric acid, C14:0 myristic acid, C15:0 pentadecanoic acid, and C20:0 arachidic acid percentages were all lesser in lower body condition score cows, whereas C22:1n-9 erucic acid measurements were lesser in younger cows. Saturated fatty acid, monounsaturated fatty acid, and polyunsaturated fatty acid percentages were not altered in the different claws, ages, or body condition score groups. Triglyceride quantities did not differ for claw position or age but had decreased quantities in lower body condition score animals. Digital cushion anatomy, cellular morphology, and fatty acid composition have been described in general and also in animals with differing ages, body condition scores, and in the differing claws. Understanding fat deposition, mobilization, and composition are essential in not only understanding the roles that the digital cushion plays but also in preventing disorders and maintaining cattle health and welfare.
Topics: Adipocytes; Animals; Cattle; Cattle Diseases; Fatty Acids; Female; Foot Diseases; Lameness, Animal
PubMed: 33685700
DOI: 10.3168/jds.2020-19388 -
Chemical Engineering Journal (Lausanne,... Jul 2021The emergence of COVID-19 pandemic has severely affected human health and world economies. According to WHO guidelines, continuous use of face mask is mandatory...
The emergence of COVID-19 pandemic has severely affected human health and world economies. According to WHO guidelines, continuous use of face mask is mandatory for personal protection for restricting the spread of bacteria and virus. Here, we report a 3-ply cotton-PLA-cotton layered biodegradable face-mask containing encapsulated phytochemicals in the inner-filtration layer. The nano-fibrous PLA filtration layer was fabricated using needleless electrospinning of PLA & phytochemical-based herbal-extracts. This 3-layred face mask exhibits enhanced air permeability with a differential pressure of 35.78 Pa/cm and superior bacterial filtration efficiency of 97.9% compared to conventional face masks. Close-packed mesh structure of the nano-fibrous mat results in effective adsorption of particulate matter, aerosol particles, and bacterial targets deep inside the filtration layer. The outer hydrophobic layer of mask exhibited effective blood splash resistance up to a distance of 30 cm, ensuring its utilization for medical practices. Computational analysis of constituent phytochemicals using the LibDock algorithm predicted inhibitory activity of chemicals against the protein structured bacterial sites. The computational analysis projected superior performance of phytochemicals considering the presence of stearic acid, oleic acid, linoleic acid, and Arachidic acid exhibiting structural complementarity to inhibit targeted bacterial interface. Natural cotton fibers and PLA bio-polymer demonstrated promising biodegradable characteristics in the presence of in-house cow-dung based biodegradation slurry. Addition of jaggery to the slurry elevated the biodegradation performance, resulting in increment of change of weight from 07% to 12%. The improved performance was attributed to the increased sucrose content in biodegradation slurry, elevating the bacterial growth in the slurry. An innovative face mask has shown promising results for utilization in day-to-day life and medical frontline workers, considering the post-pandemic environmental impacts.
PubMed: 33654455
DOI: 10.1016/j.cej.2021.129152 -
Oxidative Medicine and Cellular... 2020Hypertension, central obesity, hyperglycemia, and dyslipidemia are key risk factors for cardiovascular disease. However, the specific factors contributing to the...
Hypertension, central obesity, hyperglycemia, and dyslipidemia are key risk factors for cardiovascular disease. However, the specific factors contributing to the development of unfavorable cardiometabolic characteristics in children with obesity are unknown. In this study, we investigated the cross-sectional relationships between cytokines, irisin, and fatty acid (FA) composition in plasma in school-age children with metabolically healthy and unhealthy obesity (MHO and MUO, respectively) of the same age and body mass index and waist circumference percentiles. We compared the data with that of children with normal weight (NW). We found that inflammatory cytokines and low irisin plasma concentrations are associated with obesity but not with cardiometabolic risk (CMR). Lipid profiles showed that children with MUO have a distinctive FA profile compared with children with MHO and NW, whereas children with MHO shared 88% of the FA profile with the NW group. Among all FAs, concentration of myristic acid (14 : 0), arachidic acid (20 : 0), and n-3 polyunsaturated FAs (PUFAs) was higher in children with MHO, whereas n-6 PUFAs such as arachidonic acid (20 : 4n6) had a significant contribution in defining MUO. These data suggest that the plasma FA profile is not only a central link to obesity but also may act as an indicator of CMR presence.
Topics: Body Mass Index; Cardiometabolic Risk Factors; Cardiovascular Diseases; Child; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Humans; Lipids; Male; Metabolic Syndrome; Obesity; Risk Factors
PubMed: 33299523
DOI: 10.1155/2020/2935278 -
Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Nov 2020Free fatty acids serve as important bioactive molecules in the brain. They are involved in message transfer in the brain. There are many reports available in the...
Free fatty acids serve as important bioactive molecules in the brain. They are involved in message transfer in the brain. There are many reports available in the literature regarding the role of cerebral fatty acids in message transfer; however, most of the studies are mainly focused on limited fatty acid species or only a few specific brain regions. To understand the relationship between cerebral functions and free fatty acids, it is necessary to investigate the distribution of the free fatty acids among different regions in the whole brain. In this study, free fatty acids were extracted from different brain regions and analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively using the stable isotopic labeling liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry approach. In total, 1008 potential free fatty acids were detected in the whole brain out of which 38 were found to be commonly present in all brain regions. Among different brain regions, the highest and the smallest amounts of potential free fatty acids were detected in the olfactory bulb and cerebellum, respectively. From a statistical point of view, 4-methyl-2-oxovaleric acid, -11, 14-eicosadienoic acid, tridecanoic acid, myristic acid, nonadecanoic acid, and arachidic acid were found to significantly vary among the four different brain regions (olfactory bulb, occipital lobe, hippocampus, and cerebellum). The variation in the composition of free fatty acids among different brain regions may be very important for investigating the relationship between free fatty acids and functions of cerebral regions.
Topics: Animals; Brain; Brain Chemistry; Chromatography, Liquid; Fatty Acids, Nonesterified; Isotope Labeling; Male; Mass Spectrometry; Rats, Sprague-Dawley
PubMed: 33171987
DOI: 10.3390/molecules25215163 -
Saudi Pharmaceutical Journal : SPJ :... Oct 2020The aim of this work is to evaluate the chemical constituents and potential biological activists of Three fatty acids were isolated using column chromatography and...
The aim of this work is to evaluate the chemical constituents and potential biological activists of Three fatty acids were isolated using column chromatography and identified as palmitic acid (F1), oleic acid (F2) and stearic acid (F3) in addition to other two steroidal compounds; α-amyrin (A4), and β-sitosterol (A5). Using GC, ten fatty acids were detected the major fatty acid obtained was stearic acid (74.61%) while palmitic acid was the second high percentage (10.35%), and the least percentage obtained was arachidic acid (0.07%). extract showed antimicrobial activities against some microorganisms. The highest activity of total extract was reported against (18.3 ± 0.03 mm.) followed by (15.3 ± 0.05), while the lowest were for both & (6.7 ± 0.06 and 5.9.0 ± 0.9 mm. respectively). The three isolated compounds (F1-3) showed activities against aureus, and only. The highest activity was aganist Staphylococcus aureus (13.0 ± 0.1 mm.). The highest effect was obtained by compound F3 (stearic acid) (15.0 ± 0.5 mm.), and compound F1 (oleic acid) (13.0 ± 0.1 mm.) and F2 (palmitic acid) 11.0 ± 0.3 mm. The total ethanol extract of the investigated fungus was safe up to 5000 mg kg and did not produce any significant change in liver and kidney functions after oral administration (400 mg kg) for 14 consecutive days. The results reported the isolation of some fungal new driving compounds which has been not isolated before from species in addition to their correlated new biological activities.
PubMed: 33132713
DOI: 10.1016/j.jsps.2020.08.009 -
Nutrients Sep 2020Saturated fatty acids with different chain lengths have different biological activities, but little is known about very-long-chain saturated fatty acids (VLCSFAs). This... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
Saturated fatty acids with different chain lengths have different biological activities, but little is known about very-long-chain saturated fatty acids (VLCSFAs). This study investigated the associations between the circulating VLCSFAs and cardiovascular health. This community-based cohort study included 2198 adults without carotid artery plaques (CAPs) at baseline. The percentage of baseline erythrocyte VLCSFA (arachidic acid (C20:0), behenic acid (C22:0), and lignoceric acid (C24:0)) was measured by gas chromatography. The presence of CAPs was determined at baseline and every 3 years thereafter by ultrasound examination. A meta-analysis was conducted to summarize the pooled associations between circulating VLCSFAs and the risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). During a median of 7.2 years of follow-up, 573 women (35.1%) and 281 men (49.6%) were identified as CAP incident cases. VLCSFAs were inversely related with CAP risk in women (all -trend <0.05) but not in men. Multivariate adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of CAPs for the highest (vs. lowest) quartile were 0.80 (0.63-1.01) for C20:0, 0.71 (0.56-0.89) for C22:0, 0.75 (0.59-0.94) for C24:0, and 0.69 (0.55-0.87) for total VLCSFAs in women. The pooled HRs (95% CIs) of CVDs for the highest (vs. lowest) circulating VLCSFAs from seven studies including 8592 participants and 3172 CVD events were 0.67 (0.57-0.79) for C20:0, 0.66 (0.48-0.90) for C22:0, and 0.57 (0.42-0.79) for C24:0, respectively. Our findings suggested that circulating VLCSFAs were inversely associated with cardiovascular health.
Topics: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Carotid Arteries; Carotid Stenosis; China; Fatty Acids; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Heart Disease Risk Factors; Humans; Incidence; Male; Middle Aged; Nutrition Surveys; Nutritional Status; Proportional Hazards Models; Prospective Studies; Sex Factors; Ultrasonography
PubMed: 32899794
DOI: 10.3390/nu12092709 -
Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Aug 2020Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is an important component of the Mediterranean diet and a highly priced product. Despite the strict legislation to protect it from...
Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is an important component of the Mediterranean diet and a highly priced product. Despite the strict legislation to protect it from fraudulent practices, there is an increasing demand to characterize EVOOs and evaluate their authenticity. For this purpose, 68 monovarietal EVOOs, originating from three regions of Greece (Peloponnese, Crete, and Lesvos) and two local cultivars (Koroneiki and Kolovi), were obtained during the harvesting period of 2018-2019. Fatty acids, squalene, and tocopherols were determined chromatographically according to official methods in order to study the effect of cultivar and geographical origin. Squalene and γ-tocopherol differed significantly amongst the cultivars tested. Koroneiki samples exhibited higher squalene content than Kolovi samples, whereas the opposite was observed for γ-tocopherol. The tocopherol level was highly geographical dependent, with EVOOs from Peloponnese displaying the highest concentration of α-tocopherol, whereas the content of γ-tocopherol was significantly higher in samples from Lesvos. Unsupervised and supervised multivariate analysis resulted in a satisfactory grouping of EVOOs according to cultivar. γ-Tocopherol, squalene, and the majority of fatty acids were the most discriminant variables, with γ-tocopherol, linoleic, linolenic, and gadoleic acid being present at higher levels in samples from the Kolovi cultivar. Koroneiki samples were characterized with higher levels of squalene, palmitic, palmitoleic, and arachidic acid.
Topics: Fatty Acids; Food Analysis; Olive Oil; Squalene; Tocopherols
PubMed: 32839421
DOI: 10.3390/molecules25173818