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Fish Oil and Microalga Omega-3 as Dietary Supplements: A Comparative Study on Cardiovascular Risk Factors in High-Fat Fed Rats

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Lipids

Abstract

Dietary supplementation with marine omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) can have beneficial effects on a number of risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD). We compared the effects of two n-3 PUFA rich food supplements (freeze-dried Odontella aurita and fish oil) on risk factors for CVD. Male rats were randomly divided into four groups of six animals each and fed with the following diets: control group (C) received a standard diet containing 7 % lipids; second group (HF high fat) was fed with a high-fat diet containing 40 % lipids; third group (HFFO high fat+fish oil) was fed with the high-fat diet supplemented with 0.5 % fish oil; and fourth group (HFOA high fat+O. aurita) received the high-fat diet supplemented with 12 % of freeze-dried O. aurita. After 8 weeks rats fed with the high-fat diet supplemented with O. aurita displayed a significantly lower bodyweight than those in the other groups. Both the microalga and the fish oil significantly reduced insulinemia and serum lipid levels. O. aurita was more effective than the fish oil in reducing hepatic triacyglycerol levels and in preventing high-fat diet-induced steatosis. O. aurita and fish oil also reduced platelet aggregation and oxidative status induced by high fat intake. After an OA supplementation, the adipocytes in the HFOA group were smaller than those in the HF group. Freeze-dried O. aurita showed similar or even greater biological effects than the fish oil. This could be explained by a potential effect of the n-3 PUFA but also other bioactive compounds of the microalgae.

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Abbreviations

AT:

Adipose tissue

C:

Control diet

CVD:

Cardiovascular disease

DHA:

Docosahexaenoic acid

DPA:

Docosapentaenoic acid

EPA:

Eicosapentaenoic acid

FO:

Fish oil

GPx:

Glutathione peroxidase

HF:

High fat diet

HFFO:

High fat + fish oil diet

HFOA:

High fat + Odontella aurita diet

MDA:

Malondialdehyde

OA:

Odontella aurita

PRP:

Platelet rich plasma

PUFA:

Polyunsaturated fatty acid (s)

SFA:

Saturated fatty acid

TxB2 :

Thromboxane B2

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the PHC-Volubilis program No MA/21/61 with joint financial support from the French Foreign Affairs Ministry, the Moroccan Ministry of Research and Higher Education and the FP 7 European Project GIAVAP (Genetic Improvement of Algae for Value Added Products). The authors also thank M. Ghosh for reviewing the English text in the first version of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. IUT Département Génie Biologique, Rue des Drs Calmette et Guérin, 53020, Laval Cedex 9, France

    Adil Haimeur, Virginie Mimouni & Lionel Ulmann

  2. Faculté des Sciences et Techniques, Université du Maine, Avenue O. Messiaen, 72085, Le Mans, France

    Adil Haimeur & Gérard Tremblin

  3. EA 2160-MMS, Mer Molécules Santé, IUML-FR 3473 CNRS, Université du Maine, Le Mans, France

    Adil Haimeur, Virginie Mimouni, Lionel Ulmann & Gérard Tremblin

  4. Equipe Nutrition, Environnement, Santé. Laboratoire de Virologie, Microbiologie, Qualité/Ecotoxicologie et Biodiversité, Faculté des Sciences et Techniques, Université Hassan II, Mohammedia, Morocco

    Adil Haimeur, Hafida Messaouri & Nadia Meskini

  5. ONIRIS, Unité Nutrition et Endocrinologie, Nantes, France

    Anne-Sophie Martineau

  6. Centre Hospitalier du Mans, Laboratoire d’Hémostase, Avenue Rubillard, 72037, Le Mans Cedex 9, France

    Fabienne Pineau-Vincent

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  1. Adil Haimeur
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  2. Virginie Mimouni
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  3. Lionel Ulmann
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  4. Anne-Sophie Martineau
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Correspondence to Gérard Tremblin.

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Haimeur, A., Mimouni, V., Ulmann, L. et al. Fish Oil and Microalga Omega-3 as Dietary Supplements: A Comparative Study on Cardiovascular Risk Factors in High-Fat Fed Rats. Lipids 51, 1037–1049 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11745-016-4177-2

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