BACKGROUND: To investigate the effect of manganese on lipid peroxidation and compositional changes of fatty acids in hippocampus of rat brain. METHODS: Seven rats in experimental group were given with MnCl2 intraperitoneally for 4 weeks (4 mg/kg once daily, 5 days per week). Twenty four hours after the last injection, rats were decapitated and, hippocampus were separated from the rat brain. RESULT: In Mn-treated group, manganese concentrations increased significantly in the hippocampus by 222% compared with control group (P<0.01). MDA concentrations increased significantly by 149% compared with control group (P<0.05). Among fatty acids, total n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) increased significantly by 237% compared with control group (P<0.05). Linoleic acid (LA) and arachidonic acids (AA) increased by 213%, 238% (P<0.05, P<0.01, respectively). Among n-3 PUFAs except linolenic acids, eicosapentanoic acid(EPA) and docosahexanoic acids (DHA) decreased significantly by 70%, 50% respectively compared with control group (both P<0.01). CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that manganese may cause compositional changes of fatty acids in hippocampus of rat brain. Characteristics of fatty acids compositional changes by manganese were the decrease of EPAs and DHAs (n-3 PUFAs), and increase of AA and LA (n-6 PUFAs). These changes with the increase of MDA, suggest that manganese neurotoxicity is caused by lipid peroxidation.
alpha-Linolenic Acid ; Animals ; Arachidonic Acid ; Arachidonic Acids ; Brain* ; Fatty Acids* ; Fatty Acids, Omega-3 ; Fatty Acids, Unsaturated ; Hippocampus* ; Linoleic Acid ; Linolenic Acids ; Lipid Peroxidation* ; Malondialdehyde ; Manganese* ; Rats*

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Adequate dietary fatty acid intake is important for toddlers between 12–24 months of age, as this is a period of dietary transition in conjunction with rapid growth and development; however, actual fatty acid intake during this period seldom has been explored. This study was conducted to assess the intake status of n-3 and n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids by toddlers during the 12–24-month period using 2010–2015 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Twenty-four-hour dietary recall data of 12–24-month-old toddlers (n = 544) was used to estimate the intakes of α-linolenic acid (ALA; 18:3n-3), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA; 20:5n-3), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; 22:6n-3), linoleic acid (LA; 18:2n-6), and arachidonic acid (AA; 20:4n-6), as well as the major dietary sources of each. The results were compared with the expected intake for exclusively breastfed infants in the first 6 months of life and available dietary recommendations. RESULTS: Mean daily intakes of ALA, EPA, DHA, LA, and AA were 529.9, 22.4, 37.0, 3907.6, and 20.0 mg/day, respectively. Dietary intakes of these fatty acids fell below the expected intake for 0–5-month-old exclusively breastfed infants. In particular, DHA and AA intakes were 4 to 5 times lower. The dietary assessment indicated that the mean intake of essential fatty acids ALA and LA was below the European and the FAO/WHO dietary recommendations, particularly for DHA, which was approximately 30% and 14–16% lower, respectively. The key sources of the essential fatty acids, DHA, and AA were soy (28.2%), fish (97.3%), and animals (53.7%), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Considering the prevailing view of DHA and AA requirements on early brain development, there remains considerable room for improvement in their intakes in the diets of Korean toddlers. Further studies are warranted to explore how increasing dietary intakes of DHA and AA could benefit brain development during infancy and early childhood.
Animals ; Arachidonic Acid ; Brain ; Diet ; Eicosapentaenoic Acid ; Fatty Acids ; Fatty Acids, Essential ; Fatty Acids, Unsaturated ; Growth and Development ; Humans ; Infant ; Korea ; Linoleic Acid ; Nutrition Surveys

Essential fatty acids are those that could not be synthesized by the body itself but crucial for health and life. Studies have shown that ω-3 fatty acids may facilitate human physiological functions. Mammals lack ω-3 desaturase gene, and the Δ15 fatty acid desaturase (Δ15 Des) from Caenorhabditis elegans can transform the ω-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) into ω-3 PUFAs. Transgenic mice expressing Δ15 Des enzyme activity was constructed by using a PiggyBac transposon (PB). Homozygous transgenic mice with stable inheritance was bred in a short time, with a positive rate of 35.1% achieved. The mice were fed with 6% ω-6 PUFAs and the changes of fatty acids in mice were detected by gas chromatography (GC). The expression level of Δ15 Des in mice was detected by quantitative PCR (qPCR) and Western blotting (WB). qPCR and GC analysis revealed that the percentage of positive mice harboring the active gene was 61.53%. Compared with traditional methods, the transformation efficiency and activity of Δ15 Des were significantly improved, and homozygotes showed higher activity than that of heterozygotes. This further verified the efficient transduction efficiency of the PiggyBac transposon system.
Animals ; Caenorhabditis elegans/genetics* ; Fatty Acid Desaturases/genetics* ; Fatty Acids ; Fatty Acids, Omega-3 ; Mice ; Mice, Transgenic

To investigate the underlying mechanisms of C18 fatty acids (stearic acid, oleic acid, linoleic acid and alpha-linolenic acid) on mast cells, we measured the effect of C18 fatty acids on intracellular Ca2+ mobilization and histamine release in RBL-2H3 mast cells. Stearic acid rapidly increased initial peak of intracellular Ca2+ mobilization, whereas linoleic acid and alpha-linolenic acid gradually increased this mobilization. In the absence of extracellular Ca2+, stearic acid (100 microM) did not cause any increase of intracellular Ca2+ mobilization. Both linoleic acid and alpha-linolenic acid increased intracellular Ca2+ mobilization, but the increase was smaller than that in the presence of extracellular Ca2+. These results suggest that C18 fatty acid-induced intracellular Ca2+ mobilization is mainly dependent on extracellular Ca2+ influx. Verapamil dose-dependently inhibited stearic acid-induced intracellular Ca2+ mobilization, but did not affect both linoleic acid and alpha-linolenic acid-induced intracellular Ca2+ mobilization. These data suggest that the underlying mechanism of stearic acid, linoleic acid and alpha-linolenic acid on intracellular Ca2+ mobilization may differ. Linoleic acid and alpha-linolenic acid significantly increased histamine release. Linoleic acid (C18:2: omega-6)-induced intracellular Ca2+ mobilization and histamine release were more prominent than alpha-linolenic acid (C18:3: omega-3). These data support the view that the intake of more alpha-linolenic acid than linoleic acid is useful in preventing inflammation.
alpha-Linolenic Acid ; Fatty Acids* ; Histamine Release* ; Inflammation ; Linoleic Acid ; Mast Cells ; Oleic Acid ; Verapamil

OBJECTIVE: To compare the levels of short-chain fatty acids in enterobacteria-related metabolites in feces between infants with cholestatic hepatopathy and healthy infants. METHODS: Thirty infants with cholestatic hepatopathy were enrolled in this study as the disease group, while 30 healthy infants were enrolled as the control group. Fecal specimens were collected from the disease group before and after treatment and from the control group. Gas chromatography was used to quantitatively determine the content of short-chain fatty acids in the feces of both groups including acetic acid, propionic acid, butyric acid, isobutyric acid, and isovaleric acid. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in the concentrations of acetic acid and propionic acid between the control and disease groups before and after treatment, as well as no significant changes in the two markers in the disease group after treatment (P>0.05). The disease group had a significantly increased concentration of butyric acid after treatment (P<0.05). The concentrations of isobutyric acid and isovaleric acid in the control group were significantly higher than those in the disease group before and after treatment (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS Intestinal protein metabolites in infants with cholestatic hepatopathy are significantly different from those in healthy infants, whereas there is no significant difference with respect to carbohydrate metabolites.
Acetates ; Butyric Acid ; Enterobacteriaceae ; Fatty Acids, Volatile ; Feces ; Humans ; Infant

The fatty acid desaturase 2 (FADS2) gene encodes delta-6 desaturase (D6D) and is a member of the fatty acid desaturase gene family.D6D is the key enzyme catalyzing the transformation of linoleic acid and α-linolenic acid to long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid (LC-PUFA).LC-PUFA play a crucial role in regulating the glycolipid metabolism of living organisms.In recent years,the activity of D6D and the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of FADS2 gene have become a hot topic in the research on glycolipid metabolism.This article reviews the role of FADS2 gene in glycolipid metabolism.
Fatty Acid Desaturases/metabolism* ; Glycolipids/metabolism* ; Humans ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide

Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) including gamma-linolenic acid are valuable products because of their involvement in several aspects of human health care. GLA has been claimed to play a crucial role in development and prevention of some skin diseases, diabetes, reproductive disorder and others. At present, market demand for most gamma-linolenic acid is growing continually and current sources are inadequate for satisfying this demand due to the significant problems of low productivity, complex and expensive downstream process and unstable quality. Therefore, seeking for alternative sources are demanding. delta6-fatty acid desaturase is the rate-limiting enzyme for the biosynthesis of PUFAs, which catalyses the conversion of linoleic acid and alpha-linolenic acid to gamma-linolenic acid and stearidonic acid respectively. Unfortunately, the structure information on membrane desaturases is scarce because of the technical limitations in obtaining quantities of purified protein and the intrinsic difficulties in obtaining crystals from membrane proteins. With the isolation of the genes coding for delta6-fatty acid desaturase from various organisms, its characteristics will be elucidated gradually. Here we concisely reviewed the recent progress on studies of molecular biology including the cloning of delta6-fatty acid desaturase gene, structure and function, phylogeny and prospects of gene engineering application.
Cloning, Molecular ; Fatty Acid Desaturases ; genetics ; metabolism ; Fatty Acids, Unsaturated ; biosynthesis ; Genetic Engineering ; methods ; Phylogeny ; gamma-Linolenic Acid ; biosynthesis

Medicinal mushrooms, including Cordyceps militaris, have received attention in Korea because of their biological activities. In the fruiting body and in corpus of C. militaris, the total free amino acid content was 69.32 mg/g and 14.03 mg/g, respectively. In the fruiting body, the most abundant amino acids were lysine, glutamic acid, proline and threonine. The fruiting body was rich in unsaturated fatty acids, which comprised about 70% of the total fatty acids. The most abundant unsaturated acid was linoleic acid. There were differences in adenosine and cordycepin contents between the fruiting body and the corpus. The adenosine concentration was 0.18% in the fruiting body and 0.06% in the corpus, and the cordycepin concentration was 0.97% in the fruiting body and 0.36% in the corpus.
Adenosine ; Agaricales ; Amino Acids ; Cordyceps ; Deoxyadenosines ; Fatty Acids ; Fatty Acids, Unsaturated ; Fruit ; Glutamic Acid ; Korea ; Linoleic Acid ; Lysine ; Proline ; Threonine

This study was conducted to compare nutrient intakes regarding stages of change in dietary fiber increasing behavior. Subjects were consisted of healthy 383 college students (250 females and 133 males) in Kyunggi-Do. Stages of change classified by an algorithim based on 6 items were designed each subjects into one of the 5 stages: precontemplation (PC), contemplation (CO), preparation (PR), action (AC), maintenance (MA). Nutrient intakes were assessed by 24-hr recall method. Regarding the 5 stages of changes, PR stage comprised the largest group (39.4%), followed by AC (33.7%), MA (14.6%), PC (7.6%), CO (4.7%). Female were more belong to either AC or MA. The higher stage of change in dietary fiber increasing behavior, the higher self-efficacy. In all male and female, there were no differences in energy, protein, monounsaturated fatty acids, polyunsaturated fatty acids and cholesterol intakes across the 5 stages. But, fiber, potassuim (K), vitamin A and vitamin C intakes of AC or MA were higer than those of PC, CO and PR. Energy% from fat of PR (25.4 - 26.5%) was higher than 20%, and those of AC and MA was lower than the other groups. Dietary P/S and omega6/omega3 ratios of AC and MA were similar to the recommended ratio. Female of PR had the most total saturated fat and palmitic acid and those of MA had the least. Male of PR had the least alpha-LNA (omega3) and total omega3 fatty acids and those of MA had the most. In male and female in AC or MA, fiber and K intakes from breakfast, dinner and snack and vitamin C intakes from all meals were higher than those of the other stages. These results of our study confirm differences in stages of change in fiber intake in terms of nutritional status. To have lower energy% from fat, higher intakes of K, fiber and vitamins, desirable ratio of dietary fatty acids, it needs consistent nutritional education leading to the AC or MA of fiber increasing behavior.
Ascorbic Acid ; Breakfast ; Cholesterol ; Dietary Fiber* ; Education ; Fatty Acids ; Fatty Acids, Monounsaturated ; Fatty Acids, Unsaturated ; Female ; Gyeonggi-do* ; Humans ; Male ; Meals ; Nutritional Status ; Palmitic Acid ; Snacks ; Vitamin A ; Vitamins

OBJECTIVETo study the effect of liver fatty acid binding protein(L-FABP) and fatty acid transport protein (FATP4) in the development of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in rats.

METHODSThe expression of L-FABP and FATP4 genes was examined in fatty liver rats by reverse transcription and polymerase chain reaction amplification and Western blot methods.

RESULTSIn the high fat diet group (F), mRNA and protein expression of L-FABP and FATP4 were increased at 2 weeks, and they increased remarkably at 12 weeks (P < 0.05; L-FABP mRNA F=124.9, protein expression F=92.6; FATP4 mRNA F=602.9, protein expression F=108.8).

CONCLUSIONThe high expression of L-FABP and FATP4 at the early stage is an adaptive reaction of the body, With the advanced expression of the L-FABP and FATP4, it can lead to a fatty acid disequilibrium and then result in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in the rats.

Animals ; Fatty Acid Transport Proteins ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Fatty Acid-Binding Proteins ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Fatty Liver ; metabolism ; Male ; RNA, Messenger ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar