Ma Kunpeng, Xie Shuhui, Zhang Ying, Liu Haixiang, Yu Wei, Chen Peihua
Interdisciplinary Center for Brain Information, the Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China.
Sino-Danish College, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Front Nutr. 2025 Jul 9;12:1573310. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2025.1573310. eCollection 2025.
Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) plays a pivotal role in sustaining the normal function of the human brain and preventing metabolic and neurodegenerative disorders. Despite its significance, the bioavailability of DHA from current supplements is suboptimal due to the limited absorption capacity of the adult brain. Recent studies have highlighted the role of Mfsd2a transporter in facilitating brain DHA uptake when DHA is esterified to lyso-phosphatidylcholine (LPC).
Lyso-diacylglyceryltrimethylhomoserine (LDGTS), a betaine lipid that resembles LPC in structure and is abundant in Nannochloropsis microalgae oil, presents a promising method to enhance DHA absorption. This study aimed to examine whether LDGTS-containing microalgae oil can promote brain DHA uptake.
Seven groups of mice were fed different lipid formulations alongside their regular diet. After 15 days, tissue and organ samples were collected for lipid extraction and fatty acid analysis. Brain DHA uptake was quantified and compared across groups.
The mice administered a combination of microalgae oil and triacylglycerol (TAG)-DHA showed a significant increase in brain DHA uptake compared to controls. This effect was not observed with TAG-DHA alone, microalgae oil alone, or krill oil. The facilitation of DHA incorporation was accompanied by a notable enhancement of pathways related to cell growth and retinol metabolism in the brain, while pathways associated with cellular apoptosis and inflammation were downregulated.
These findings suggest that the inclusion of LDGTS-rich microalgae oil in DHA supplementation may offer a novel and effective strategy for improving the bioavailability of DHA in the brain.
二十二碳六烯酸（DHA）在维持人类大脑正常功能以及预防代谢和神经退行性疾病方面发挥着关键作用。尽管其意义重大，但由于成人大脑吸收能力有限，目前补充剂中DHA的生物利用度并不理想。最近的研究强调了Mfsd2a转运蛋白在促进大脑摄取DHA（当DHA被酯化为溶血磷脂酰胆碱（LPC）时）中的作用。
溶血二酰甘油三甲基高丝氨酸（LDGTS）是一种结构与LPC相似且在微拟球藻油中含量丰富的甜菜碱脂质，它为提高DHA吸收提供了一种有前景的方法。本研究旨在检验含LDGTS的微藻油是否能促进大脑摄取DHA。
七组小鼠在正常饮食的同时喂食不同的脂质制剂。15天后，收集组织和器官样本进行脂质提取和脂肪酸分析。对各组大脑DHA摄取量进行定量并比较。
与对照组相比，给予微藻油和甘油三酯（TAG）-DHA组合的小鼠大脑DHA摄取量显著增加。单独给予TAG-DHA、单独给予微藻油或磷虾油时未观察到这种效果。DHA掺入的促进伴随着大脑中与细胞生长和视黄醇代谢相关途径的显著增强，而与细胞凋亡和炎症相关的途径则被下调。
这些发现表明，在DHA补充剂中加入富含LDGTS的微藻油可能为提高大脑中DHA的生物利用度提供一种新颖有效的策略。
