The influence of the SNP rs174575 (C/G) within the fatty acid desaturase 2 gene on the levels of long-chain PUFA was determined through statistical meta-analysis. Six databases were searched to retrieve the relevant literature. Original data were analysed using Stata 17·0, encompassing summary statistics, tests for heterogeneity, assessment of publication bias, subgroup analysis and sensitivity analysis. A total of ten studies were identified and grouped into twelve trials. Our results showed that individuals who carried the minor G allele of rs174575 had significantly higher dihomo-γ-linolenic acid levels (P = 0·005) and lower arachidonic acid levels (P = 0·033) than individuals who were homozygous for the major allele. The subgroup analysis revealed that the G-allele carriers of rs174575 were significantly positively correlated with linoleic acid (P = 0·002) and dihomo-γ-linolenic acid (P < 0·001) and negatively correlated with arachidonic acid (P = 0·004) in the European populations group. This particular SNP showed a potential association with higher concentrations of dihomo-γ-linolenic acid (P = 0·050) and lower concentrations of arachidonic acid (P = 0·030) within the breast milk group. This meta-analysis has been registered in the PROSPERO database (ID: CRD42023470562).

During the first thousand days of life, fetus and infant’s nutrition depends on mother’s diet. Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) are important substrates in infant neurogenesis. We related erythrocyte membrane (EM) and breast milk fatty acids (FA) profile in lactating mothers with the EM FA profile in exclusively breastfed infants and evaluated maternal fat consumption. We conducted an observational, cross-sectional analytical study. During the 2016–2019 period, milk and blood samples from adult mothers 90 days post-partum and infant’s blood were analysed, and FA were determined by GC. A frequency of consumption survey of fatty acids precursor foods and sources was conducted. The sample included forty-five mother–infant EM and forty-five milk samples donated by the same mothers. A low percentage of DHA (0·14 (0·12–0·2)) was found in milk, consistent with mother’s low consumption of DHA-rich foods. A significant positive correlation between infant’s EM DHA percentage and milk DHA percentage (r = 0·39; P value 0·008), as well as between infant’s EM ω-3 fatty acids sum and milk DHA percentage (r = 0·39; P value 0·008), was found. When milk had a DHA percentage greater than or equal to 0·20 %, infants had a significant increase in DHA in their EM. Mother’s consumption of DHA precursors and sources was NS. The relation between the DHA percentage distribution found in maternal milk, and the DHA percentage distribution found in infant’s and mother’s EM was proven in this population. Dietary fatty acid intake is associated with the maternal milk lipid distribution and with mothers’ and infant’s EM fatty acids percentage.

The aim of this study is to determine to what extent the addition of chitinase to black soldier fly (BSF) larval meal enriched or not with long-chain PUFA (LC-PUFA) could improve growth, protein digestion processes and gut microbial composition in Nile tilapia. Two different types of BSF meal were produced, in which larvae were reared on substrates formulated with vegetable culture substrate (VGS) or marine fish offal substrate (FOS). The BSF raised on VGS was enriched in α-linolenic acid (ALA), while that raised on FOS was enriched in ALA + EPA + DHA. Six BSF-based diets, enriched or not with chitinase, were formulated and compared with a control diet based on fishmeal and fish oil (FMFO). Two doses (D) of chitinase from Aspergillus niger (2 g and 5 g/kg feed) were added to the BSF larval diets (VGD0 and FOD0) to obtain four additional diets: VGD2, VGD5, FOD2 and FOD5. After 53 d of feeding, results showed that the BSF/FOS-based diets induced feed utilisation, protein efficiency and digestibility, as well as growth comparable to the FMFO control diet, but better than the BSF/VGS-based diets. The supplementation of chitinase to BSF/FOS increased in fish intestine the relative abundance of beneficial microbiota such as those of the Bacillaceae family. The results showed that LC-PUFA-enriched BSF meal associated with chitinase could be used as an effective alternative to fishmeal in order to improve protein digestion processes, beneficial microbiota and ultimately fish growth rate.

Hypercholesterolaemia is a major risk factor for CVD. Fish intake is associated with lower risk of CVD, whereas supplementation with n-3 long-chain PUFA (LC-PUFA) has little effect on the cholesterol concentration. We therefore investigated if cetoleic acid (CA), a long-chain MUFA (LC-MUFA) found especially in pelagic fish species, could lower the circulating total cholesterol (TC) concentration in rodents. A systematic literature search was performed using the databases PubMed, Web of Science and Embase, structured around the population (rodents), intervention (CA-rich fish oils or concentrates), comparator (diets not containing CA) and the primary outcome (circulating TC). Articles were assessed for risk of bias using the SYRCLE’s tool. A meta-analysis was conducted in Review Manager v. 5.4.1 (the Cochrane Collaboration) to determine the effectiveness of consuming diets containing CA-rich fish oils or concentrates on the circulating TC concentration. Twelve articles were included in the systematic review and meta-analysis, with data from 288 rodents. Consumption of CA-rich fish oils and concentrates resulted in a significantly lower circulating TC concentration relative to comparator groups (mean difference −0·65 mmol/l, 95 % CI (−0·93, −0·37), P < 0·00001), with high statistical heterogeneity (I2 = 87 %). The risk of bias is unclear since few of the entries in the SYRCLE’s tool were addressed. To conclude, intake of CA-rich fish oils and concentrates prevents high cholesterol concentration in rodents and should be further investigated as functional dietary ingredients or supplements to reduce the risk for developing CVD in humans.

Maternal fish consumption exposes the fetus to beneficial nutrients and potentially adverse neurotoxicants. The current study investigated associations between maternal fish consumption and child neurodevelopmental outcomes. Maternal fish consumption was assessed in the Seychelles Child Development Study Nutrition Cohort 1 (n 229) using 4-day food diaries. Neurodevelopment was evaluated at 9 and 30 months, and 5 and 9 years with test batteries assessing twenty-six endpoints and covering multiple neurodevelopmental domains. Analyses used multiple linear regression with adjustment for covariates known to influence child neurodevelopment. This cohort consumed an average of 8 fish meals/week and the total fish intake during pregnancy was 106·8 (sd 61·9) g/d. Among the twenty-six endpoints evaluated in the primary analysis there was one beneficial association. Children whose mothers consumed larger quantities of fish performed marginally better on the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test (a test of nonverbal intelligence) at age 5 years (β 0·003, 95 % CI (0, 0·005)). A secondary analysis dividing fish consumption into tertiles found no significant associations when comparing the highest and lowest consumption groups. In this cohort, where fish consumption is substantially higher than current global recommendations, maternal fish consumption during pregnancy was not beneficially or adversely associated with children’s neurodevelopmental outcomes.

This study was aimed to investigate whether EPA and arachidonic acid (ARA), the representative n-3 or n-6 PUFA, could alleviate enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) K88-induced inflammation and injury of intestinal porcine epithelial cells 1 (IPEC-1) by modulating pyroptosis and necroptosis signalling pathways. IPEC-1 cells were cultured with or without EPA or ARA in the presence or absence of ETEC K88. EPA and ARA reduced ETEC K88 adhesion and endotoxin content in the supernatant. EPA and ARA increased transepithelial electrical resistance, decreased permeability of fluorescein isothiocyanate-labelled dextran, increased membrane protein expression of occludin, ZO-1 and claudin-1 and relieved disturbed distribution of these proteins. EPA and ARA also reduced cell necrosis ratio. EPA or ARA reduced mRNA and concentration of TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-8 and decreased mRNA abundances of intestinal toll-like receptors 4 and its downstream signals. Moreover, EPA and ARA downregulated mRNA expression of nod-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3), caspase 1 and IL-18 and inhibited protein expression of NLRP3, apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a CARD (ASC), gasdermin D and caspase-1. Finally, EPA and ARA reduced mRNA expression of fas-associated death domain protein, caspase 8, receptor-interacting protein kinase (RIP) 1, mixed lineage kinase-like protein (MLKL), phosphoglycerate mutase 5 (PGAM5), motility-related protein 1 (Drp1) and high mobility protein 1 (HMGB1) and inhibited protein expression of phosphorylated-RIP1, p-RIP3, p-MLKL and HMGB1. These data demonstrate that EPA and ARA prevent ETEC K88-induced cell inflammation and injury, which is partly through inhibiting pyroptosis and necroptosis signalling pathways.

N-3 long-chain (≥C20) PUFA (LC-PUFA) are vital fatty acids for fish and humans. As a main source of n-3 LC-PUFA for human consumers, the n-3 LC-PUFA content of farmed fish is important. Previously, we identified fatty acid-binding protein (fabp)-4 as a candidate gene for regulating the n-3 LC-PUFA content. Herein, we further assessed the role of fabp4 in this process. First, a 2059 bp promoter sequence of fabp4 in Trachinotus ovatus was cloned and, using progressive deletion, determined −2006 bp to −1521 bp to be the core promoter sequence. The PPAR-γ binding sites were predicted to occur in this region. A luciferase reporter assay showed that the promoter activity of fabp4 decreased following mutation of the PPARγ binding site and that PPARγ increased the fabp4 promoter activity in a dose-dependent manner, implying that T. ovatus fabp4 is a target of PPARγ. The overexpression of fabp4 or PPARγ increased the DHA content in hepatocytes, whereas suppression of their expression diminished this effect, suggesting that both fabp4 and PPARγ play an active role in regulating DHA content. Moreover, the inhibition of fabp4 attenuated the increase in PPARγ-mediated DHA content, and the overexpression of fabp4 alleviated this effect. Collectively, our findings indicated that fabp4, which is controlled by PPARγ, plays an important role in DHA content regulation. The new regulation axis can be considered a promising novel target for increasing the n-3 LC-PUFA content in T. ovatus.

In the present study, we analysed the effects of SNP rs174547 (T/C) in the fatty acid desaturase 1 (FADS1) gene on long-chain PUFA levels. Four databases were searched to retrieve related literature with keywords such as fatty acid (FA), SNP, FADS1 and rs174547. A meta-analysis of the data was performed using Stata12.0 software, including summary statistics, test for heterogeneity, evaluation of publication bias, subgroup analysis and sensitivity analysis. The associations between rs174547 in FADS1 and seven types of FA, and Δ-5 (D5D) and Δ-6 fatty acid desaturase (D6D) activity were assessed based on the pooled results from eleven papers. A total of 3713 individuals (1529 TT and 2184 TC + CC) were included. The results demonstrated that minor C allele carriers of rs174547 had higher linoleic acid (LA; P < 0·001) and α-linolenic acid (P = 0·020) levels, lower γ-linolenic acid (GLA; P = 0·001) and arachidonic acid (P = 0·024) levels, and lower D5D (P = 0·005) and D6D (P = 0·004) activities than the TT genotype group. Stratification analysis showed that minor C allele carriers of rs174547 had higher LA and lower GLA levels and lower D6D activities in plasma (LA, P < 0·001; GLA, P < 0·001; D6D activity, P < 0·001) samples and in Asian populations (LA, P < 0·001; GLA, P = 0·001; D6D activity, P = 0·001) than the TT genotype group. In conclusion, minor C allele carriers of the SNP rs174547 were associated with decreased activity of D5D and D6D.

Choline plays a crucial role in lipid metabolism for fish, and its deficiency in aquafeed has been linked to compromised health and growth performance. A 56-d experiment was conducted to examine the effects of dietary choline on lipid composition, histology and plasma biochemistry of yellowtail kingfish (Seriola lalandi; YTK; 156 g initial body weight). The dietary choline content ranged from 0·59 to 6·22 g/kg diet. 2-Amino-2-methyl-1-propanol (AMP) (3 g/kg) was added to diets, except for a control diet, to limit de novo choline synthesis. The results showed that the liver lipid content of YTK was similar among diets containing AMP and dominated by NEFA. In contrast, fish fed the control diet had significantly elevated liver TAG. Generally, the SFA, MUFA and PUFA content of liver lipid in fish fed diets containing AMP was not influenced by choline content. The SFA and MUFA content of liver lipid in fish fed the control diet was similar to other diets except for a decrease in PUFA. The linear relationship between lipid digestibility and plasma cholesterol was significant, otherwise most parameters were unaffected. When AMP is present, higher dietary choline reduced the severity of some hepatic lesions. The present study demonstrated that choline deficiency affects some plasma and liver histology parameters in juvenile YTK which might be useful fish health indicators. Importantly, the present study elucidated potential reasons for lower growth in choline-deficient YTK and increased the knowledge on choline metabolism in the fish.

An 8-week feeding trial was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary n-3 LC-PUFA levels on growth performance, tissue fatty acid profiles and relative expression of genes involved in the lipid metabolism of mud crab (Scylla paramamosain). Ten isonitrogenous diets were formulated to contain five n-3 LC-PUFA levels at 7 and 12 % dietary lipid levels. The highest weight gain and specific growth rate were observed in crabs fed the diets with 19·8 and 13·2 mg/g n-3 LC-PUFA at 7 and 12 % lipid, respectively. Moisture and lipid contents in hepatopancreas and muscle were significantly influenced by dietary n-3 LC-PUFA at the two lipid levels. The DHA, EPA, n-3 LC-PUFA contents and n-3:n-6 PUFA ratio in hepatopancreas and muscle significantly increased as dietary n-3 LC-PUFA levels increased at both lipid levels. The expression levels of -6 fatty acyl desaturase and acyl-CoA oxidase in hepatopancreas increased significantly, and expression levels of fatty acid synthase, carnitine palmitoyltransferase I and hormone-sensitive TAG lipase were down-regulated, with increased dietary n-3 LC-PUFA regardless of lipid level. Based on weight gain, n-3 LC-PUFA requirements of S. paramamosain were estimated to be 20·1 and 12·7 mg/g of diet at 7 and 12 % dietary lipid, respectively. Overall, dietary lipid level influenced lipid metabolism, and purified, high-lipid diets rich in palmitic acid reduced the n-3 LC-PUFA requirement of juvenile mud crab.

The metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a cluster of cardiovascular risk factors including obesity, insulin resistance (IR) and dyslipidaemia. Consumption of a high-fat diet (HFD) enriched in SFA leads to the accumulation of ceramide (Cer), the central molecule in sphingolipid metabolism. Elevations in plasma and tissue Cer are found in obese individuals, and there is evidence to suggest that Cer lipotoxicity contributes to the MetS. EPA and DHA have shown to improve MetS parameters including IR, inflammation and hypertriacylglycerolaemia; however, whether these improvements are related to Cer is currently unknown. This review examines the potential of EPA and DHA to improve Cer lipotoxicity and MetS parameters including IR, inflammation and dyslipidaemia in vitro and in vivo. Current evidence from cell culture and animal studies indicates that EPA and DHA attenuate palmitate- or HFD-induced Cer lipotoxicity and IR, whereas evidence in humans is greatly lacking. Overall, there is intriguing potential for EPA and DHA to improve Cer lipotoxicity and related MetS parameters, but more research is warranted.

n-3 Long-chain PUFA (LCPUFA) can improve cardiometabolic blood markers, but studies in children are limited. SNP in the FADS genes, which encode fatty acid desaturases, influence endogenous LCPUFA production. Moreover, SNP in genes that encode PPAR and apoE may modulate the effects of n-3 LCPUFA. We explored whether FADS polymorphisms were associated with blood cholesterol and TAG, insulin and glucose and whether polymorphisms in PPAR and APOE modified associations between FADS or n-3 LCPUFA status and the cardiometabolic blood markers. We measured fasting cholesterol and TAG, insulin, glucose and n-3 LCPUFA in 757 Danish 8–11-year-old children and genotyped SNP in FADS (rs1535 and rs174448), PPARG2 (rs1801282), PPARA (rs1800206) and APOE (rs7412+rs429358). Carriage of two FADS rs174448 major alleles was associated with lower TAG (P = 0·027) and higher HDL-cholesterol (P = 0·047). Blood n-3 LCPUFA was inversely associated with TAG and insulin in PPARG2 minor allele carriers and positively with LDL-cholesterol in major allele homozygotes (Pn-3 LCPUFA × rs180182 < 0·01). Associations between n-3 LCPUFA and cardiometabolic markers were not modified by APOE genotype (Pn-3 LCPUFA × APOE > 0·11), but interaction between FADS rs1535 and APOE showed that rs1535 major allele homozygotes who also carried APOE2 had higher HDL-cholesterol than all other genotype combinations (Prs1535 × APOE = 0·019, pairwise-P < 0·05). This indicates that FADS genotypes, which increase endogenous LCPUFA production, may beneficially affect children’s cardiometabolic profile in a partly APOE-dependent manner. Also, the degree to which children benefit from higher n-3 LCPUFA intake may depend on their PPARG2 genotype.

Infants born preterm miss out on the peak period of in utero DHA accretion to the brain during the last trimester of pregnancy which is hypothesised to contribute to the increased prevalence of neurodevelopmental deficits in this population. This study aimed to determine whether DHA supplementation in infants born preterm improves attention at 18 months’ corrected age. This is a follow-up of a subset of infants who participated in the N3RO randomised controlled trial. Infants were randomised to receive an enteral emulsion of high-dose DHA (60 mg/kg per d) or no DHA (soya oil – control) from within the first days of birth until 36 weeks’ post-menstrual age. The assessment of attention involved three tasks requiring the child to maintain attention on toy/s in either the presence or absence of competition or a distractor. The primary outcome was the child’s latency of distractibility when attention was focused on a toy. The primary outcome was available for seventy-three of the 120 infants that were eligible to participate. There was no evidence of a difference between groups in the latency of distractibility (adjusted mean difference: 0·08 s, 95 % CI –0·81, 0·97; P = 0·86). Enteral DHA supplementation did not result in improved attention in infants born preterm at 18 months’ corrected age.

The razor clam, Sinonovacula constricta, contains high levels of long-chain PUFA (LC-PUFA), which are critical for human health. In addition, S. constricta is the first marine mollusc demonstrated to possess Δ6 fatty acyl desaturase (Fad) and complete LC-PUFA biosynthetic ability, providing a good representative to investigate the molecular mechanism of sterol regulatory element binding proteins (SREBP) in regulating Δ6 Fad for LC-PUFA biosynthesis in marine molluscs. Herein, S. constricta SREBP and Δ6 Fad promoter were cloned and characterised. Subsequently, dual luciferase and electrophoretic mobility shift assays were conducted to explore the SREBP binding elements in the core regulatory region of S. constricta Δ6 Fad promoter. Results showed that S. constricta SREBP had a very conservative basic helix-loop-helix-leucine zipper motif, while S. constricta Δ6 Fad promoter exhibited very poor identity with teleost Fads2 promoters, indicating their differentiation during evolution. A 454 bp region harbouring a core sequence in S. constricta Δ6 Fad promoter was predicted to be essential for the transcriptional activation by SREBP. This was the first report on the regulatory mechanism of LC-PUFA biosynthesis in marine molluscs, which would facilitate optimising the LC-PUFA biosynthetic pathway of bivalves in further studies.

Fish-oil supplements are marketed as enhancing intelligence and cognitive performance. However, empirical data concerning the utility of these products in healthy term infants are mixed, particularly with respect to lasting effects into childhood. We evaluated whether fish-oil supplementation during infancy leads to better neurocognitive/behavioural development at 6 years. We conducted a double-blind randomised controlled trial of supplementation with n-3 long-chain PUFA in 420 healthy term infants. Infants received either fish oil (containing at least 250 mg DHA and at least 60 mg EPA) or placebo (olive oil) daily from birth to 6 months of age. Neurodevelopmental follow-up was conducted at a mean age of 6 years (sd 7 months), whereby 335 children were assessed for language, executive functioning, global intelligence quotient and behaviour. No significant differences were observed between the groups for the main neurocognitive outcomes. However in parent-report questionnaire, fish-oil supplementation was associated with negative externalising (P = 0·035, d = 0·24) and oppositional/defiant behaviour (P = 0·006, d = 0·31), particularly in boys (P = 0·01, d = 0·45; P = 0·004, d = 0·40). Our results provide evidence that fish-oil supplementation to predominantly breast-fed infants confers no significant cognitive or behavioural benefit to children at 6 years.

The regulation of lipogenesis and lipolysis mechanisms related to consumption of lipid has not been studied in swimming crab. The aims of the present study were to evaluate the effects of dietary lipid levels on growth, enzymes activities and expression of genes of lipid metabolism in hepatopancreas of juvenile swimming crab. Three isonitrogenous diets were formulated to contain crude lipid levels at 5·8, 9·9 and 15·1 %. Crabs fed the diet containing 15·1 % lipid had significantly lower growth performance and feed utilisation than those fed the 5·8 and 9·9 % lipid diets. Crabs fed 5·8 % lipid had lower malondialdehyde concentrations in the haemolymph and hepatopancreas than those fed the other diets. Highest glutathione peroxidase in haemolymph and superoxide dismutase in hepatopancreas were observed in crabs fed 5·8 % lipid. The lowest fatty acid synthase and glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase activities in hepatopancreas were observed in crabs fed 15·1 % lipid, whereas crabs fed 5·8 % lipid had lower carnitine palmitoyltransferase-1 activity than those fed the other diets. Crabs fed 15·1 % lipid showed lower hepatopancreas expression of genes involved in long-chain-PUFA biosynthesis, lipoprotein clearance, fatty acid uptake, fatty acid oxidation, lipid anabolism and lipid catabolism than those fed the other diets, whereas expression of some genes of lipoprotein assembly and fatty acid oxidation was up-regulated compared with crabs fed 5·8 % lipid. Overall, high dietary lipid level can inhibit growth, reduce antioxidant enzyme activities and influence lipid metabolic pathways to regulate lipid deposition in crab.

We conducted a systematic review of randomised controlled trials (RCT) of increased intake of arachidonic acid (ARA) on fatty acid status and health outcomes in humans. We identified twenty-two articles from fourteen RCT. Most studies were conducted in adults. These used between 80 and 2000 mg ARA per d and were of 1–12 weeks duration. Supplementation with ARA doses as low as 80 mg/d increased the content of ARA in different blood fractions. Overall there seem to be few marked benefits for adults of increasing ARA intake from the typical usual intake of 100–200 mg/d to as much as 1000 mg/d; the few studies using higher doses (1500 or 2000 mg/d) also report little benefit. However, there may be an impact of ARA on cognitive and muscle function which could be particularly relevant in the ageing population. The studies reviewed here suggest no adverse effects in adults of increased ARA intake up to at least 1000–1500 mg/d on blood lipids, platelet aggregation and blood clotting, immune function, inflammation or urinary excretion of ARA metabolites. However, in many areas there are insufficient studies to make firm conclusions, and higher intakes of ARA are deserving of further study. Based on the RCT reviewed, there are not enough data to make any recommendations for specific health effects of ARA intake.

To compare the growth and biosynthetic ability of long-chain PUFA (LC-PUFA) of the genetically improved farmed tilapia (GIFT) (Oreochromis niloticus) in different water salinities, an 8-week feeding trial was conducted on the GIFT juveniles at 0, 12 and 24 ‰ (parts per thousand; ppt), respectively, with three isonitrogenous (32 %) and isolipidic (8 %) diets (D1–D3). Diet D1 with fish oils (rich in LC-PUFA) as lipid source was used as the control, while D2 and D3 with vegetable oil (free LC-PUFA) blends as lipid source contained different ratios of linoleic acid (LA, 18 : 2n-6) and α-linolenic acid (ALA, 18 : 3n-3) at 4·04 (D2) and 0·54 (D3), respectively. At the end of feeding trial, the growth performance of D2 and D3 groups under all salinity treatments was as good as that of D1 group, which indicates that the GIFT juveniles may convert dietary LA and ALA into LC-PUFA to meet the requirement of essential fatty acids for normal growth and physiology. When fed the same diets, GIFT at 12 ppt had a better growth performance coupled with a higher liver and muscle arachidonic acid content than those in freshwater. Furthermore, brackish water (24 ppt) significantly promoted the mRNA levels of elongase 5 of very long-chain fatty acids (elovl5) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (pparα) in liver, when compared with freshwater. These results suggest that the GIFT may display better growth performance together with a relatively higher endogenous LC-PUFA biosynthetic ability under brackish water (12 and 24 ppt), probably through improving the expression of elovl5 and pparα in liver.

EPA (20 : 5n-3) and DHA (22 : 6n-3) fatty acids have weight-reducing properties with physiological activity depending on their molecular structure – that is, as TAG or ethyl esters (EE). Aquaporins (AQP) are membrane protein channels recognised as important players in fat metabolism, but their differential expression in white adipose tissue (WAT) and brown adipose tissue (BAT), as well as their modulation by dietary n-3 long-chain PUFA (LCPUFA) such as EPA and DHA, has never been investigated. In this study, the transcriptional profiles of AQP3, AQP5, AQP7 and selected lipid markers of WAT (subcutaneous and visceral) and BAT (interscapular) from hamsters fed diets containing n-3 LCPUFA in different lipid structures such as fish oil (FO, rich in EPA and DHA in the TAG form) and FO-EE (rich in EPA and DHA in the EE form) were used and compared with linseed oil (LSO) as the reference group. A clear effect of fat depot was observed for AQP3 and leptin (LEP), with the lowest values of mRNA found in BAT relative to WAT. The opposite occurred for PPARα. AQP7 was affected by diet, with FO-fed hamsters having higher mRNA levels compared with LSO-fed hamsters. The relative gene expression of AQP5, adiponectin (ADIPO), GLUT4 and PPARγ was influenced by both fat tissue and diet. Taken together, our results revealed a differential expression profile of AQP and some markers of lipid metabolism in both WAT and BAT in response to feeding n-3 LCPUFA in two different structural formats: TAG v. EE.

This study quantified the fatty acid profile with emphasis on the stereo-specifically numbered (sn) 2 positional distribution in TAG and the composition of main phospholipids at different lactation stages. Colostrum milk (n 70), transitional milk (n 96) and mature milk (n 82) were obtained longitudinally from healthy lactating women in Shanghai. During lactation, total fatty acid content increased, with SFA dominating in fatty acid profile. A high ratio of n-6:n-3 PUFA was observed as 11:1 over lactation due to the abundance of linoleic acid in Chinese human milk. As the main SFA, palmitic acid showed absolute sn-2 selectivity, while oleic acid, linoleic acid and α-linolenic acid, the main unsaturated fatty acids, were primarily esterified at the sn-1 and sn-3 positions. Nervonic acid and C22 PUFA including DHA were more enriched in colostrum with an sn-2 positional preference. A total of three dominant phospholipids (phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), phosphatidylcholine (PC) and sphingomyelin (SM)) were analysed in the collected samples, and each showed a decline in amount over lactation. PC was the dominant compound followed by SM and PE. With prolonged breast-feeding time, percentage of PE in total phospholipids remained constant, but PC decreased, and SM increased. Results from this study indicated a lipid profile different from Western reports and may aid the development of future infant formula more suitable for Chinese babies.