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

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.

Effects of Chinese Dietary Pattern of Fat Content, n-6/n-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Ratio, and Cholesterol Content on Lipid Profile in Rats

“…Guelzim et al [ 20 ] showed that n-3 PUFAs could improve the body composition and insulin sensitivity and resulted in rats' weight loss. Haimeur et al [ 21 ] also found that rats fed with high-fat diet had higher adiposity and adipose tissue/BW ratio compared to those in the control group, but these values were reduced by a dietary supplementation of n-3 PUFA.…”

Preventive Effects of the Marine Microalga Phaeodactylum tricornutum, Used as a Food Supplement, on Risk Factors Associated with Metabolic Syndrome in Wistar Rats

“…HF diet provided 22 kcal/g, 61 kcal%, 24 kcal% from fat and carbohydrates, respectively; (3) the HF-Phaeo group received a HF diet supplemented with 12% ( w / w ) of freeze-dried microalga P. tricornutum (CNR, Florence, Italy). The microalga supplementation with the dose of 12% was chosen on the basis of previous studies that showed the beneficial effects of the marine microalga O. aurita at 12% after eight weeks of the diet [19,20]. This microalga, which is rich in EPA, prevents metabolic disorders associated with CVD induced by a high-fat diet in Wistar rats [19,20].…”

Microalgal carotenoids and phytosterols regulate biochemical mechanisms involved in human health and disease prevention

“…in diabetes, dyslipidemia and ischemic heart disease patients led to significant decreases in blood cholesterol, low density lipoproteins (LDL) and very low density lipoproteins (VLDL), triacyglycerols and lipid peroxidation (malondialdehyde, MDA) levels with an improvement in total antioxidant status [16]. In high fat-fed rats, it has been reported that the use of freezedried Odontella aurita, a marine diatom, had a preventive role in dyslipidemia, oxidative stress and platelet aggregation [17] with better results than those observed with fish oil [18], as earlier reported with the microalga Chlorella pyrenoidosa [19]. In diabetic rats, the microalga Isochrysis galbana has been reported to decrease blood levels of glucose, triacylglycerols and cholesterol [20].…”