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Impact of Administered Bifidobacterium on Murine Host Fatty Acid Composition

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Lipids

Abstract

Recently, we reported that administration of Bifidobacteria resulted in increased concentrations of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in murine adipose tissue [1]. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of co-administration of Bifidobacterium breve NCIMB 702258 and the substrate for EPA, α-linolenic acid, on host fatty acid composition. α-Linolenic acid-supplemented diets (1%, wt/wt) were fed to mice (n = 8), with or without B. breve NCIMB 702258 (daily dose of 109 microorganisms) for 8 weeks. Two further groups received either supplement of B. breve alone or unsupplemented diet. Tissue fatty acid composition was assessed by gas liquid chromatography. Dietary supplementation of α-linolenic acid resulted in higher (P < 0.05) α-linolenic acid and EPA concentrations in liver and adipose tissue and lower (P < 0.05) arachidonic acid in liver, adipose tissue and brain compared with mice that did not receive α-linolenic acid. Supplementation with B. breve NCIMB 702258 in combination with α-linolenic acid resulted in elevated (P < 0.05) liver EPA concentrations compared with α-linolenic acid supplementation alone. Furthermore, the former group had higher (P < 0.05) DHA in brain compared with the latter group. These results suggest a role for interactions between fatty acids and commensals in the gastrointestinal tract. This interaction between administered microbes and fatty acids could result in a highly effective nutritional approach to the therapy of a variety of inflammatory and neurodegenerative conditions.

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Abbreviations

ANOVA:

Analysis of variance

CFU:

Colony forming units

CLA:

Conjugated linoleic acid

DHA:

Docosahexaenoic acid

EPA:

Eicosapentaenoic acid

FAME:

Fatty acid methyl esters

IBD:

Inflammatory bowel disease

IFN-γ:

Interferon-γ

MTP:

Microsomal triglyceride transfer protein

MRS:

de Man, Rogosa and Sharpe

PBS:

Phosphate buffered saline

PUFA:

Polyunsaturated fatty acids

PFGE:

Pulse-field gel electrophoresis

SDS:

Special diets services

SEM:

Standard error mean

TNF-α:

Tumor necrosis factor-α

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the technical assistance of Seamus Aherne for fatty acid analysis, Frances O’Brien and Grainne Hurley for assistance with the murine trial. The authors are supported, in part, by Science Foundation Ireland (SFI), the Irish Ministry for Food and Agriculture, the Higher Education Authority and the Health Research Board of Ireland and the Irish Government under the National Development Plan 2000–2006.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre (APC), Co. Cork, Ireland

    Rebecca Wall, R. Paul Ross, Fergus Shanahan, Liam O’Mahony, Eamonn Quigley, Timothy G. Dinan, Gerald Fitzgerald & Catherine Stanton

  2. Teagasc, Moorepark Food Research Centre, Fermoy, Co. Cork, Ireland

    R. Paul Ross & Catherine Stanton

  3. University College Cork, National University of Ireland, Cork, Ireland

    Gerald Fitzgerald

  4. Alimentary Health (AH), Co. Cork, Ireland

    Barry Kiely

Authors
  1. Rebecca Wall
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  2. R. Paul Ross
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  3. Fergus Shanahan
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  4. Liam O’Mahony
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  5. Barry Kiely
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  7. Timothy G. Dinan
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  8. Gerald Fitzgerald
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  9. Catherine Stanton
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Correspondence to Catherine Stanton.

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Wall, R., Ross, R.P., Shanahan, F. et al. Impact of Administered Bifidobacterium on Murine Host Fatty Acid Composition. Lipids 45, 429–436 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11745-010-3410-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11745-010-3410-7

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