The Marine Microalga, Tisochrysis lutea, Protects against Metabolic Disorders Associated with Metabolic Syndrome and Obesity

Abstract

Long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids n-3 series and especially docosahexaenoic acid are known to exert preventive effects on metabolic disturbances associated with obesity and decrease cardiovascular disease risk. n-3 LC-PUFAs are mainly consumed in the form of fish oil, while other sources, such as certain microalgae, may contain a high content of these fatty acids. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of Tisochrysis lutea (Tiso), a microalga rich in DHA, on metabolic disorders associated with obesity. Three male Wistar rat groups were submitted for eight weeks to a standard diet or high-fat and high fructose diet (HF), supplemented or not with 12% of T. lutea (HF-Tiso). The supplementation did not affect plasma alanine aminotransferase (ALAT). Bodyweight, glycemia and insulinemia decreased in HF-Tiso rats (ANOVA, p < 0.001), while total plasma cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) increased (ANOVA, p < 0.001) without change of low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) and triacylglycerol (TAG) levels. Tiso supplementation decreased fat mass and leptinemia as well as liver TAG, cholesterol and plasma tumor necrosis factor-alpha levels (ANOVA, p < 0.001) while it did not affect interleukin 6 (IL-6), IL-4 and lipopolysaccharides levels. HF-Tiso rats showed an increase of IL-10 level in abdominal adipose tissue (ANOVA, p < 0.001). In conclusion, these results indicated that DHA-rich T. lutea might be beneficial for the prevention of obesity and improvement of lipid and glucose metabolism.

A Comparative In Vitro Evaluation of the Anti-Inflammatory Effects of a Tisochrysis lutea Extract and Fucoxanthin

“…From a pharmacological point of view, the smaller is the concentration at which the molecule is active, the greater is its potential application. Recently, in a model of metabolic syndrome, a high-fat diet, supplemented with 12% (w/w) of freeze-dried T. lutea, significantly reduced plasma TNF-α levels and increased IL-10 in abdominal adipose tissue [43].…”

The Potential of the Marine Microalga Diacronema lutheri in the Prevention of Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome in High-Fat-Fed Wistar Rats

“…Eighteen young male Wistar rats, aged three weeks, weighing about 130 g and obtained from Janvier Labs (Le Genest-Saint-Isle, France), were selected to avoid age effects on metabolic disorders associated with obesity, and to avoid any sexual endocrine fluctuation. The nutritional protocol was previously described [32,83] and all the experiments were approved by the Ethical Committee 06 Pays de la Loire and by the French Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation (APAFIS 10187, 31 August 2017).…”

“…The animals were randomly divided into three groups of six rats and received diets ad libitum for eight weeks as follows: (1) the CTRL group; (2) the HF group was fed the 260 HF diet (Safe, Augy, France) with 10% fructose in ad libitum drinking tap water (Distriborg, St.-Genis-Laval, France); (3) the HF-Dia group received an HF diet supplemented with 12% (w/w) of the freeze-dried microalga D. lutheri (IBE-CNR, Florence, Italy). The amount of D. lutheri added to the diet was chosen from our previous animal studies that showed the anti-obesogenic effects of O. aurita, P. tricornutum and T. lutea marine microalgae at 12% (w/w) after eight weeks of the diet in Wistar rats [32,53,83]. These microalgae, which are rich in n-3 LC-PUFAs, showed preventive effects on obesity and metabolic disturbances associated in HF-fed Wistar rats [32,53,83].…”

“…The amount of D. lutheri added to the diet was chosen from our previous animal studies that showed the anti-obesogenic effects of O. aurita, P. tricornutum and T. lutea marine microalgae at 12% (w/w) after eight weeks of the diet in Wistar rats [32,53,83]. These microalgae, which are rich in n-3 LC-PUFAs, showed preventive effects on obesity and metabolic disturbances associated in HF-fed Wistar rats [32,53,83]. Microalgal supplementation was incorporated directly in the HF diet to create a homogeneous mixture and provide 5.93 kcal/g in the HF-Dia diet.…”

Effect of Microalgae and Macroalgae Extracts on Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

“…Mayer et al [17] have recently studied the preventive effects of Tisochrysis lutea (Tiso) on metabolic alterations associated with obesity, including NAFLD. Wistar rats were distributed into three experimental groups and were fed with a standard diet (CTRL), a high-fat high-fructose diet (HF) with 10% fructose in drinking water, or the HF diet but supplemented with 12% of Tisochrysis lutea (HF-Tiso), for eight weeks.…”