Eva Falch

Effects of similar intakes of marine n-3 fatty acids from enriched food products and fish oil on cardiovascular risk markers in healthy human subjects

There is convincing evidence that consumption of fish and fish oil rich in long-chain (LC) n-3 PUFA (n-3 LCPUFA), EPA (20 : 5n-3) and DHA (22 : 6n-3) reduce the risk of CHD. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether n-3 LCPUFA-enriched food products provide similar beneficial effects as fish oil with regard to incorporation into plasma lipids and effects on cardiovascular risk markers. A parallel 7-week intervention trial was performed where 159 healthy men and women were randomised to consume either 34 g fish pâté (n 44), 500 ml fruit juice (n 38) or three capsules of concentrated fish oil (n 40), all contributing to a daily intake of approximately 1 g EPA and DHA. A fourth group did not receive any supplementation or food product and served as controls (n 37). Plasma fatty acid composition, serum lipids, and markers of inflammation and oxidative stress were measured. Compared with the control group, plasma n-3 LCPUFA and EPA:arachidonic acid ratio increased equally in all intervention groups. However, no significant changes in blood lipids and markers of inflammation and oxidative stress were observed. In conclusion, enriched fish pâté and fruit juice represent suitable delivery systems for n-3 LCPUFA. However, although the dose given is known to reduce the risk of CVD, no significant changes were observed on cardiovascular risk markers in this healthy population.

Inhibitory effects of kiwifruit extract on human platelet aggregation and plasma angiotensin-converting enzyme activity.

Abstract Previous human studies suggest that supplementation with kiwifruits lowers several cardiovascular risk factors such as platelet hyperactivity, blood pressure and plasma lipids. The cardiovascular health benefit of fruit and vegetables is usually attributed to the complex mixture of phytochemicals therein; however, kiwifruit’s cardioprotective factors are not well studied. In this study, we investigated the effects of kiwifruit extract on human blood platelet aggregation and plasma angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) activity. A sugar-free, heat-stable aqueous extract with molecular mass less than 1000 Da was prepared from kiwifruits. Typically, 100 g kiwifruits produced 66.3 ± 5.8 mg (1.2 ± 0.1 mg CE) of sugar-free kiwifruit extract (KFE). KFE inhibited both human platelet aggregation and plasma ACE activity in a dose-dependent manner. KFE inhibited platelet aggregation in response to ADP, collagen and arachidonic acid, and inhibitory action was mediated in part by reducing TxA2 synthesis. The IC50 for ADP-induced platelet aggregation was 1.6 ± 0.2 mg/ml (29.0 ± 3.0 μg CE/ml), whereas IC50 for serum ACE was 0.6 ± 0.1 mg/ml (11.0 ± 1.2 μg CE/ml). Consuming 500 mg of KFE (9.0 mg CE) in 10 g margarine inhibited ex vivo platelet aggregation by 12.7%, 2 h after consumption by healthy volunteers (n = 9). All these data indicate that kiwifruit contains very potent antiplatelet and anti-ACE components. Consuming kiwifruits might be beneficial as both preventive and therapeutic regime in cardiovascular disease.

On-board handling of marine by-products to prevent microbial spoilage, enzymatic reactions and lipid oxidation.

On-Board handling of by-products to prevent microbial spoilage, enzymatic reactions and lipid oxidation

Solid Phase Extraction as a Tool to Separate Lipid Classes and Study Deterioration of Marine Lipids

ABSTRACT Interest in using marine lipids in fortified food is growing due to the increased evidence of their health benefits. The bioactivity of the lipids and the susceptibility towards deterioration depend on the molecular structure. This work describes optimization of solid-phase extraction techniques to enable detailed chemical characterization of lipid and phospholipid classes from cod roe. High purities were obtained for triacylglycerols, steryl esters (97–99%), and the two major phospholipid classes (95–100%). Both lipid oxidation products and reaction products from enzymatic hydrolysis of lipids were removed by chromatography on solid aluminium oxide. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy was used for compositional analysis of the fractionated lipid classes.