The improvements of functional ingredients from marine foods in lipid metabolism

Natural polysaccharides and their derivatives targeting the tumor microenvironment: A review

Polysaccharides have gained attention as valuable supplements and natural medicinal resources, particularly for their anti-tumor properties. Their low toxicity and potent anti-tumor effects make them promising candidates for cancer prevention and treatment. The tumor microenvironment is crucial in tumor development and offers potential avenues for novel cancer therapies. Research indicates that polysaccharides can positively influence the tumor microenvironment. However, the structural complexity of most anti-tumor polysaccharides, often heteropolysaccharides, poses challenges for structural analysis. To enhance their pharmacological activity, researchers have modified the structure and properties of natural polysaccharides based on structure-activity relationships, and they have discovered that many polysaccharides exhibit significantly enhanced anti-tumor activity after chemical modification. This article reviews recent strategies for targeting the tumor microenvironment with polysaccharides and briefly discusses the structure-activity relationships of anti-tumor polysaccharides. It also summarises the main chemical modification methods of polysaccharides and discusses the impact of chemical modifications on the anti-tumor activity of polysaccharides. The review aims to lay a theoretical foundation for the development of anti-tumor polysaccharides and their derivatives.

Marine algal polysaccharides as future potential constituents against non-alcoholic steatohepatitis

Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is one of the most chronic and incurable liver diseases triggered mainly by an inappropriate diet and hereditary factors which burden liver metabolic stress, and may result in liver fibrosis or even cancer. While the available drugs show adverse side effects. The non-toxic bioactive molecules derived from natural resources, particularly marine algal polysaccharides (MAPs), present significant potential for treating NASH. In this review, we summarized the protective effects of MAPs on NASH from multiple perspectives, including reducing oxidative stress, regulating lipid metabolism, enhancing immune function, preventing fibrosis, and providing cell protection. Furthermore, the mechanisms of MAPs in treating NASH were comprehensively described. Additionally, we highlight the influences of the special structures of MAPs on their bioactive differences. Through this comprehensive review, we aim to further elucidate the molecular mechanisms of MAPs in NASH and inspire insights for deeper research on the functional food and clinical applications of MAPs.

Dietary astaxanthin-rich extract ameliorates atherosclerosis/retinopathy and restructures gut microbiome in apolipoprotein E-deficient mice fed on a high-fat diet

Scope: Atherosclerosis (AS) is the leading cause of ischemic disease. However, the anti-AS effects of astaxanthin and its potential mechanisms remain unclear. This study is aimed to investigate the function of astaxanthin-rich extract (ASTE) on AS and gut microbiota as well as the difference from atorvastatin (ATO) in apolipoprotein E-deficient (ApoE^-/-) mice. Methods and results: Wild type (WT) and ApoE^-/- mice were divided into seven groups: the low-fat diet (LFD) and high-fat diet (HFD) groups (in both types) as well as three ApoE^-/- groups based on HFD added with two doses of ASTE and one dose of ATO, respectively. After 30 weeks of intervention, results showed that ASTE significantly inhibited body weight increase, lipids accumulation in serum/liver, and AS-lesions in the aorta. Furthermore, fundus fluorescein angiography and retinal CD31 immunohistochemical staining showed that ASTE could alleviate the occurrence of AS-retinopathy. H&E staining showed that ASTE could protect the colon's mucosal epithelium from damage. The gas chromatographic and gene expression analyses showed that ASTE promoted the excretion of fecal acidic and neutral sterols from cholesterol by increasing LXRα, CYP7A1, and ABCG5/8 and decreasing FXR, NPC1L1, ACAT2, and MTTP expressions. Remarkably, the ASTE administration maintained the gut barrier by enhancing gene expression of JAM-A, Occludin, and mucin2 in the colon and reshaped gut microbiota with the feature of blooming Akkermansia. Conclusion: Our results suggested that ASTE could prevent AS in both macrovascular and/or microvascular as well as used as novel prebiotics by supporting the bile acid excretion and growth of Akkermansia.

Coix Seed-Based Milk Fermented With Limosilactobacillus reuteri Improves Lipid Metabolism and Gut Microbiota in Mice Fed With a High-Fat Diet

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of coix seed-based milk (CSM) fermented with Limosilactobacillus reuteri (L. reuteri) on dyslipidemia and the composition of the intestinal microbiota in high fat diet (HFD)-fed mice. Changes in the body weight, serum lipid levels, activities of hepatic oxidative stress factors, expression of lipid-related genes, and composition of the intestinal microbiota of HFD-fed mice after supplementation with CSM were determined. The results showed that intake of CSM reduced the body weight gain as well as serum total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels, and increased the high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels in the mice. Meanwhile, supplementation with CSM could relieve liver oxidative stress, down-regulate the expression of genes related to lipid synthesis, and prevent liver fat accumulation in mice fed with HFD. The 16S rRNA sequencing of the intestinal microbiota showed that CSM regulated the gut microbiota community structure at different taxonomic levels, and reversed gut dysbiosis induced by HFD. The relative abundance of Muribaculaceae, Lachnospiraceae, Dubosiella and Akkermansia which are negatively correlated with blood lipid levels were significantly increased by the intervention of CSM, while the relative abundance of Desulfovibrionaceae, Ruminococca-ceae_UCG-014, Psychrobacter, and Staphylococcus which have positive correlation with blood lipid levels were significantly decreased. These results indicated that CSM might serve as a novel and promising dietary supplement for ameliorating hyperlipidemia and intestinal microbiota disorders caused by HFDs.

Taurine Alleviates Trimethylamine N-Oxide-Induced Atherosclerosis by Regulating Bile Acid Metabolism in ApoE-/- Mice

Trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) widely exists in seafood and is associated with the atherosclerosis progress, but dietary seafood reduced the cardiovascular risk. This intimates that there may be some ingredients in seafood to offset the cardiovascular risk caused by TMAO. Taurine is a marker ingredient in seafood. Thus, this study determined the influences of taurine on TMAO-induced atherosclerosis in apolipoprotein-E-deficient mice. The results showed that dietary taurine significantly reduced the TMAO-induced atherosclerotic lesion area. Further studies found that taurine increased the hepatic- and serum-conjugated bile acid/unconjugated bile acid ratio via increasing hepatic gene expression of conjugated bile acid synthesis. Meanwhile, taurine changed TMAO-induced abnormal bile acid profiles in the gallbladder. Moreover, taurine increased bile acid deconjugation by enhancing the genera Ruminiclostridium level and increased excretion of fecal neutral sterols. Additionally, taurine attenuated inflammation in the serum and artery. These results indicate that taurine alleviated TMAO-induced atherosclerosis via regulating bile acid metabolism.

Hypolipidemic effect of chromium-modified enzymatic product of sulfated rhamnose polysaccharide from Enteromorpha prolifera in type 2 diabetic mice

Sulfated rhamnose polysaccharide (SRP) derived from Enteromorpha prolifera is a metal-ion chelating agent that could potentially be used to treat diabetes. The aim of our study was to determine the effect of a variant of SRP on DIABETES. First, we synthesized and characterized SRPE-3 chromium(III) [SRPE-3-Cr(III)] complex using an enzymatic method. The maximum chelation rate was 18.2% under optimal chelating conditions of pH 6.0, time 4 h, and temperature 60 °C. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy results showed important sites for Cr(III)-binding were O-H and C=O groups. We then studied the hypolipidemic effects of SRPE-3-Cr(III) on type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) induced by a high-fat, high-sucrose diet (HFSD). Decreased blood glucose content, body fat ratio, serum TG, TC, LDL-C, and increased serum HDL-C were observed after treatment with SRPE-3-Cr(III). In addition, SRPE-3-Cr(III) significantly reduced leptin, resistin, and TNF-α levels, and increased adiponectin contents relative to T2DM. Histopathology results also showed that SRPE-3-Cr(III) could alleviate the HFSD-lesioned tissues. SRPE-3-Cr(III) also improved lipid metabolism via a reduction in aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, fatty acid synthase, and acetyl-CoA carboxylase activities in the liver. SRPE-3-Cr(III) at low doses exhibited better lipid-lowering activities, hence, could be considered to be a novel compound to treat hyperlipidemia and also act as an anti-diabetic agent.

Effect of Lactobacillus fermentum HFY06 Combined with Arabinoxylan on Reducing Lipid Accumulation in Mice Fed with High-Fat Diet

In this experiment, a high-fat diet was used to induce hyperlipidemia in mice to determine the synergistic effect of AX and L. fermentum HFY06 on the prevention of hyperlipidemia and its potential regulatory mechanism. The results of this study showed that after the AX and L. fermentum HFY06 synergistic intervention, the body weight, epididymal fat index, blood lipid level, and liver function indexes of mice were improved. In addition, the synbiotics comprising AX and L. fermentum HFY06 increased the CAT activity in the serum of mice on a high-fat diet, reduced NO and MDA levels, and improved the body's oxidative stress. From the perspective of molecular biology, on the one hand, AX and L. fermentum HFY06 synergistic intervention activated the AMPK pathway to regulate body lipid metabolism; up-regulated the mRNA expressions of CPT-1, PPAR-α, CYP7A1, and HSL; and down-regulated the mRNA expressions of ACC, C/EBPα, and LPL. On the other hand, the synergistic effect of AX and HFY06 enhanced the mRNA expressions of ZO-1, occludin, and claudin-1 in the small intestine of mice, increased the strength of the intestinal barrier, and optimized the composition of the intestinal microbiota. From the above results, it can be concluded that AX and L. fermentum HFY06 have a synergistic effect in improving hyperlipidemia. However, this study was only performed using animal models, and the lipid synthesis and metabolism mechanism are complicated; hence, further clinical studies are needed.

Recent insights into the molecular regulators and mechanisms of taurine to modulate lipid metabolism: a review

Lipid metabolism disorders such as hypertriglyceridemia and hypercholesterolemia are risk factors for cardiovascular diseases and atherosclerosis that are grave public health issues. Taurine, a sulfur-containing non-essential amino acid exerts a wide range of physiological effects that regulate lipid metabolic disorders. Although the effects of taurine on lipid-lowering have been reported in animals and humans, mechanisms elucidating the lipid-lowering action of taurine remain unclear. A series of molecular regulators associated with lipid metabolism have been identified in the past few decades. These include nuclear receptors, transcription factors, and enzymes that undergo important changes during taurine treatment. In this review, we focus on the role of taurine in lipid metabolism and discuss taurine-related interventions in combating lipid disorders.

Curcumin and Weight Loss: Does It Work?

Obesity is a global health problem needing urgent research. Synthetic anti-obesity drugs show side effects and variable effectiveness. Thus, there is a tendency to use natural compounds for the management of obesity. There is a considerable body of knowledge, supported by rigorous experimental data, that natural polyphenols, including curcumin, can be an effective and safer alternative for managing obesity. Curcumin is a is an important compound present in Curcuma longa L. rhizome. It is a lipophilic molecule that rapidly permeates cell membrane. Curcumin has been used as a pharmacological traditional medicinal agent in Ayurvedic medicine for ∼6000 years. This plant metabolite doubtless effectiveness has been reported through increasingly detailed in vitro, in vivo and clinical trials. Regarding its biological effects, multiple health-promoting, disease-preventing and even treatment attributes have been remarkably highlighted. This review documents the status of research on anti-obesity mechanisms and evaluates the effectiveness of curcumin for management of obesity. It summarizes different mechanisms of anti-obesity action, associated with the enzymes, energy expenditure, adipocyte differentiation, lipid metabolism, gut microbiota and anti-inflammatory potential of curcumin. However, there is still a need for systematic and targeted clinical studies before curcumin can be used as the mainstream therapy for managing obesity.

Using polyphenols as a relevant therapy to diabetes and its complications, a review

Diabetes is currently a worldwide health concern. Hyperglycemia, hypertension, obesity, and oxidative stress are the major risk factors that inevitably lead to all the complications from diabetes. These complications severely impact the quality of life of patients, and they can be managed, reduced, or even reverted by several polyphenols, plant extracts and foods rich in these compounds. The goal of this review is to approach diabetes not as a single condition but rather an interconnected combination of risk factors and complications. This work shows that polyphenols have multi target action and effects and they have been systematically proven to be relevant in the reduction of each risk factor and improvement of associated complication.

Effect of the polyphenol-rich extract from Allium cepa on hyperlipidemic sprague-dawley rats

Allium cepa is used for the prevention and treatment of hyperlipidemia-related diseases such as atherosclerosis in the folk. This study was mainly aimed at investigating the effects of A. cepa extract (ACE) enriched in polyphenols on hyperlipidemia Sprague-Dawley (SD) experiment rat models. The levels of total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), malondialdehyde (MDA), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in serum and liver were measured using ELISA kits. In addition, hematoxylin-eosin (HE) technique was used to observe the liver and the aortic arch pathology. Moreover, western blotting (WB) method was applied to analyze LDL receptor (LDLR) and 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl (HMG)-CoA reductase (HMGCR) in liver. As a result, quercetin (2.42 mg/g DW) and isoquercitrin (4.60 mg/g DW) were the main constituents of ACE using HPLC analysis. Furthermore, ACE reduced the levels of TC, TG, LDL-C, and MDA, and increased HDL levels and elevated SOD activity both in serum and liver in hyperlipidemic SD rats (p < .05). HE results showed that liver fat drops of the rats in ACE group were obviously decreased, and the lipid and foam cells of the aortic arch of the rats in ACE group were markedly ameliorated. WB results showed that ACE promoted the degradation of HMGCR and increased LDLR expression in liver (p < .05). In conclusion, ACE alleviated hyperlipidemia with downregulation of HMGCR and upregulation of LDLR. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Atherosclerosis, a major cardiovascular disease, is the leading cause of mortality and morbidity in the developed countries. Moreover, accumulating data indicate that, during atherosclerosis development, hyperlipidemia is an important risk factor. To date, hyperlipidemia is mainly treated with hyperlipidemic agents including statins, in spite of the side effects and poor tolerance in some patients. In addition, Allium cepa is a medicinal and edible plant. Furthermore, A. cepa is used for the prevention and treatment of hyperlipidemia-related diseases such as atherosclerosis in the folk. But the underlying mechanism is still unclear. In fact, this research showed that A. cepa extract (ACE) alleviated hyperlipidemia with downregulation of HMGCR and upregulation of LDLR, suggesting that ACE might be a potential option for hyperlipidemia as non-statin lipid-lowering agent.

Ganoderic acid A from Ganoderma lucidum ameliorates lipid metabolism and alters gut microbiota composition in hyperlipidemic mice fed a high-fat diet

Ganoderic acid A (GA) is one of the most abundant triterpenoids in Ganoderma lucidum, and has been proved to possess a wide range of beneficial health effects. The aim of the current study is to investigate the amelioration effects and mechanism of GA on improving hyperlipidemia in mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD). The results showed that GA intervention significantly inhibited the abnormal growth of body weight and epididymal white adipose tissue (eWAT), prevented the hypertrophy of epididymal adipocytes, and ameliorated the biochemical parameters of serum and liver related to lipid metabolism in HFD-fed mice. Histological analysis also showed that the excessive accumulation of lipid droplets in the liver induced by HFD-feeding was greatly alleviated by GA intervention. In addition, GA intervention also increased the level of short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in the intestine and promoted the excretion of bile acids (BAs) through feces. High-throughput sequencing of bacterial full-length 16S rDNA revealed that daily supplementation with GA made significant structural changes in the gut microbial population of mice fed with HFD, in particular modulating the relative abundance of some function related microbial phylotypes. The relationships between lipid metabolic parameters and gut microbial phylotypes were also revealed by correlation analysis based on a heatmap and network. The result showed that 46 key gut microbial phylotypes (OTUs) were markedly correlated with at least one lipid metabolic parameter. Moreover, UPLC-QTOF/MS-based liver metabolomics showed that 111 biomarkers (47 up-regulated metabolites and 64 down-regulated metabolites) were significantly changed after high-dose GA intervention (75 mg kg^-1 day^-1), compared with the HFD-fed hyperlipidemic mice. Metabolic pathway enrichment analysis of the differential hepatic metabolites demonstrated that GA intervention had significant regulatory effects on primary bile acid biosynthesis, fatty acid biosynthesis, amino sugar and nucleotide sugar metabolism, inositol phosphate metabolism, and so on. In addition, GA intervention regulated the mRNA levels of hepatic genes involved in fatty acid metabolism and bile acid homeostasis. These findings present new evidence supporting that GA from G. lucidum has the potential to alleviate lipid metabolic disorders and ameliorate the imbalance of gut microflora in a positive way.

Soyasaponins A1 and A2 exert anti-atherosclerotic functionalities by decreasing hypercholesterolemia and inflammation in high fat diet (HFD)-fed ApoE-/- mice

Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease causing coronary heart attacks and strokes. Soyasaponins (SS), the phytochemicals naturally existing in soybeans and their products, have been shown to reduce hypercholesterolemia and inflammation, which are intimately related to the genesis and development of atherosclerosis. However, the anti-atherosclerotic functionality of soyasaponins remains unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of the supplementation of two types of soyasaponin monomers (A1 and A2) on atherosclerotic plaque formation, serum lipid profiles, and inflammation in ApoE gene knockout (ApoE-/-) mice. Sixty 5-week-old ApoE-/- male mice were fed with a high-fat diet (HFD) and intervened by SSA1 and SSA2 (10 and 20 μmol per kg BW, respectively) or simvastatin (10 μmol per kg BW) for 24 weeks. The atherosclerotic lesions in the aorta, aortic root, and innominate artery, lipid profile and inflammatory markers in serum, and TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB signaling in arterial tissues were determined. SSA1 and SSA2 decreased the plaque ratio in the aortic root and innominate artery but not in the entire aorta. In serum, SSA1 reduced TG, TC, and LDL-C but increased HDL-C; SSA2 decreased TC, TG, and LDL-C but did not affect HDL-C. Meanwhile, SSA1 increased TG, SSA2 increased TC, and both of them increased bile acids in the feces. SSA1 and SSA2 lowered TNF-α, MCP-1, and hs-crp in serum. Furthermore, SSA1 and SSA2 reduced the TLR4 and MyD88 expressions in the aorta and innominate artery and inhibited NF-κB p65 and IκBα phosphorylation in the aorta. These results suggest that SSA1 and SSA2 exert anti-atherosclerotic functionalities by decreasing hypercholesterolemia and inflammation in HFD-fed ApoE-/- mice.

Marine omega-3 (n-3) phospholipids: A comprehensive review of their properties, sources, bioavailability, and relation to brain health

For several decades, there has been considerable interest in marine-derived long chain n-3 fatty acids (n-3 LCPUFAs) due to their outstanding health benefits. n-3 LCPUFAs can be found in nature either in triglycerides (TAGs) or in phospholipid (PL) form. From brain health point of view, PL n-3 is more bioavailable and potent compared to n-3 in TAG form, as only PL n-3 is able to cross the blood-brain barrier and can be involved in brain biochemical reactions. However, PL n-3 has been ignored in the fish oil industry and frequently removed as an impurity during degumming processes. As a result, PL products derived from marine sources are very limited compared to TAG products. Commercially, PLs are being used in pharmaceutical industries as drug carriers, in food manufacturing as emulsifiers and in cosmetic industries as skin care agents, but most of the PLs used in these applications are produced from vegetable sources that contain less (without EPA, DPA, and DHA) or sometimes no n-3 LCPUFAs. This review provides a comprehensive account of the properties, structures, and major sources of marine PLs, and provides focussed discussion of their relationship to brain health. Epidemiological, laboratory, and clinical studies on n-3 LCPUFAs enriched PLs using different model systems in relation to brain and mental health that have been published over the past few years are discussed in detail.