Maeda Hayato, Tsukui Takayuki, Sashima Tokutake, Hosokawa Masashi, Miyashita Kazuo
Faculty of Fisheries Sciences, Hokkaido University, Hakodate 041-8611, Japan.
Asia Pac J Clin Nutr. 2008;17 Suppl 1:196-9.
Fucoxanthin has a unique structure including an unusual allenic bond and 5, 6-monoepoxide in its molecule. We found that abdominal white adipose tissue (WAT) weights of rats and mice fed fucoxanthin were significantly lower than those fed a control diet. The daily intake of fucoxanthin in mice also caused a significant reductions of body weight. Clear signals of uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) and its mRNA were detected by Western and Northern blot analyses in abdominal WAT in mice fed fucoxanthin, although there is little expression of UCP1 in WAT in mice fed a control diet. UCP1 expression in WAT by fucoxanthin intake leads to oxidation of fatty acids and heat production in WAT mitochondria. Substrate oxidation can directly reduce WAT in animals. Fucoxanthin intake also significantly reduced blood glucose and plasma insulin. Furthermore, feeding fucoxanthin significantly increased the level of hepatic docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), a most important n-3 functional polyunsaturated fatty acid in biological systems. These multi-functionalities of fucoxanthin indicate that it is an important bioactive carotenoid that is beneficial for the prevention of the metabolicsyndrome.
岩藻黄质具有独特的结构，其分子中包含一个不寻常的联烯键和5,6 - 单环氧化物。我们发现，喂食岩藻黄质的大鼠和小鼠的腹部白色脂肪组织（WAT）重量显著低于喂食对照饮食的大鼠和小鼠。小鼠每日摄入岩藻黄质也导致体重显著减轻。通过蛋白质免疫印迹法（Western blot）和Northern印迹法分析发现，喂食岩藻黄质的小鼠腹部WAT中解偶联蛋白1（UCP1）及其mRNA有明显信号，而喂食对照饮食的小鼠WAT中UCP1几乎没有表达。摄入岩藻黄质导致WAT中UCP1表达，从而使WAT线粒体中的脂肪酸氧化并产生热量。底物氧化可直接减少动物体内的WAT。摄入岩藻黄质还显著降低了血糖和血浆胰岛素水平。此外，喂食岩藻黄质显著提高了肝脏二十二碳六烯酸（DHA）的水平，DHA是生物系统中一种最重要 的n - 3功能性多不饱和脂肪酸。岩藻黄质的这些多功能特性表明它是一种重要的生物活性类胡萝卜素，对预防代谢综合征有益。
