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Applications and Biotechnological Synthesis of Functional Lipids

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A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Bioactives and Nutraceuticals".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2020) | Viewed by 34697

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Francesco Secundo

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Guest Editor

CNR, Istituto di Chimica del Riconoscimento Molecolare, I-20131 Milan, Italy
Interests: biocatalysis; protein conformation; analysis of food samples
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Xiangzhao Mao

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Guest Editor

College of Food Science and Engineering, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, China
Interests: food enzyme; biocatalysis and biotransformation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Wen-Can Huang

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Co-Guest Editor

College of Food Science and Engineering, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, China
Interests: biomaterials; green solvents; food delivery system; enzyme immobilization
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Functional lipids have been demonstrated to have physiological benefits and are useful for the prevention and treatment of many chronic diseases such as obesity, bone and cardiovascular disorders, and Parkinson’s disease.

Functional lipids include omega-3 (ω-3) and omega-6 fatty acids, conjugated linoleic acids, medium chain triglycerides, and phytosterols. However, lipids containing ω-3 (e.g., α-linolenic, eicosapentaenoic (EPA), and docosahexaenoic (DHA) acids, besides others) are particularly interesting because of the relevant beneficial effects that they have on human health.

This Special Issue of IJMS aims to stimulate the publication of articles related to the different aspects of functional lipids that concern their physiological role, dietary intake, bioavailability, efficacy, and mechanisms of action and production. Regarding this latter point, the obtainment of functional lipids enriched in ω-3 in a sustainable manner (e.g., avoiding over-exploitation of wild marine organisms) is a new challenge for human activities development. Therefore, the cultivation of microorganisms capable of producing essential fatty acids (e.g., microalgae or metabolic engineered), the enrichment with DHA and/or EPA of less valuable lipids, or the recovery of these fatty acids from the waste of the food industry (e.g., by biocatalytic procedures) are all topics that can be promoted through this Special Issue of IJMS.

Prof. Francesco Secundo
Prof. Xiangzhao Mao
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

EPA
DHA
Omega-3
Essential fatty acids
α-linolenic acid
Eicosapentaenoic acid
Docosahexaenoic acid
Metabolic engineering
Microalgae
Biocatalysis
Lipase

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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15 pages, 1453 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Comparison of Lipid and Palmitoleic Acid Induction of Tribonema minus under Heterotrophic and Phototrophic Regimes by Using High-Density Fermented Seeds

by Wenjun Zhou, Hui Wang, Li Zheng, Wentao Cheng, Lili Gao and Tianzhong Liu

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2019, 20(18), 4356; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms20184356 - 05 Sep 2019

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 2436

Abstract

Palmitoleic acid, one scarce omega-7 monounsaturated fatty acid, has important applications in the fields of medicine and health products. Tribonema has been considered as a promising candidate for the production of palmitoleic acid due to its high lipid and palmitoleic acid content and remarkable heterotrophic ability. The high-density heterotrophic cultivation of Tribonema minus was conducted in this work, and the highest biomass of 42.9 g L⁻¹ and a relatively low lipid content of 28.7% were observed. To further enhance the lipid and palmitoleic acid accumulation, induction strategies under two regimes of phototrophy and heterotrophy with different conditions were investigated and compared. Results demonstrated encouraging promotions both by heterotrophic and phototrophic ways, and the final lipid contents reached 41.9% and 49.0%, respectively. In consideration of the time cost, however, the induction under heterotrophic conditions was much more advantageous, by which the highest lipid and palmitoleic acid productivities of 1.77 g L⁻¹ d⁻¹ and 924 mg L⁻¹ d⁻¹ were obtained respectively, with the lipid yield on glucose of 0.26 g g⁻¹. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications and Biotechnological Synthesis of Functional Lipids)

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Review

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24 pages, 322 KiB

Open AccessReview

Nutritional Indices for Assessing Fatty Acids: A Mini-Review

by Jiapeng Chen and Hongbing Liu

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2020, 21(16), 5695; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21165695 - 08 Aug 2020

Cited by 413 | Viewed by 16158

Abstract

Dietary fats are generally fatty acids that may play positive or negative roles in the prevention and treatment of diseases. In nature, fatty acids occur in the form of mixtures of saturated fatty acid (SFA), monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA), and polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA), so their nutritional and/or medicinal values must be determined. Herein, we do not consider the classic indices, such as ∑SFA, ∑MUFA, ∑PUFA, ∑n-6 PUFA, ∑n-3 PUFA, and n-6 PUFA/n-3 PUFA; instead, we summarize and review the definitions, implications, and applications of indices used in recent years, including the PUFA/SFA, index of atherogenicity (IA), the index of thrombogenicity (IT), the hypocholesterolemic/hypercholesterolemic ratio (HH), the health-promoting index (HPI), the unsaturation index (UI), the sum of eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid (EPA + DHA), fish lipid quality/flesh lipid quality (FLQ), the linoleic acid/α-linolenic acid (LA/ALA) ratio, and trans fatty acid (TFA). Of these nutritional indices, IA and IT are the most commonly used to assess the composition of fatty acids as they outline significant implications and provide clear evidence. EPA + DHA is commonly used to assess the nutritional quality of marine animal products. All indices have their advantages and disadvantages; hence, a rational choice of which to use is critical. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications and Biotechnological Synthesis of Functional Lipids)

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16 pages, 521 KiB

Open AccessReview

Effects of Eicosapentaenoic Acid on Arterial Calcification

by Yukihiro Saito, Kazufumi Nakamura and Hiroshi Ito

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2020, 21(15), 5455; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21155455 - 30 Jul 2020

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3253

Abstract

Arterial calcification is a hallmark of advanced atherosclerosis and predicts cardiovascular events. However, there is no clinically accepted therapy that prevents progression of arterial calcification. HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors, statins, lower low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol and reduce cardiovascular events, but coronary artery calcification is actually promoted by statins. The addition of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) to statins further reduced cardiovascular events in clinical trials, JELIS and REDUCE-IT. Additionally, we found that EPA significantly suppressed arterial calcification in vitro and in vivo via suppression of inflammatory responses, oxidative stress and Wnt signaling. However, so far there is a lack of evidence showing the effect of EPA on arterial calcification in a clinical situation. We reviewed the molecular mechanisms of the inhibitory effect of EPA on arterial calcification and the results of some clinical trials. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications and Biotechnological Synthesis of Functional Lipids)

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19 pages, 738 KiB

Open AccessReview

Functional Lipids in Autoimmune Inflammatory Diseases

by Michele Dei Cas, Gabriella Roda, Feng Li and Francesco Secundo

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2020, 21(9), 3074; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21093074 - 27 Apr 2020

Cited by 29 | Viewed by 5095

Abstract

Lipids are apolar small molecules known not only as components of cell membranes but also, in recent literature, as modulators of different biological functions. Herein, we focused on the bioactive lipids that can influence the immune responses and inflammatory processes regulating vascular hyperreactivity, pain, leukocyte trafficking, and clearance. In the case of excessive pro-inflammatory lipid activity, these lipids also contribute to the transition from acute to chronic inflammation. Based on their biochemical function, these lipids can be divided into different families, including eicosanoids, specialized pro-resolving mediators, lysoglycerophospholipids, sphingolipids, and endocannabinoids. These bioactive lipids are involved in all phases of the inflammatory process and the pathophysiology of different chronic autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, type-1 diabetes, and systemic lupus erythematosus. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications and Biotechnological Synthesis of Functional Lipids)

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32 pages, 645 KiB

Open AccessReview

Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids: What is Their Role in Treatment of Psychiatric Disorders?

by Paola Bozzatello, Paola Rocca, Emanuela Mantelli and Silvio Bellino

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2019, 20(21), 5257; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms20215257 - 23 Oct 2019

Cited by 33 | Viewed by 6904

Abstract

In the central nervous system omega-3 fatty acids modulate cell signaling and affect dopaminergic and serotonergic pathways. On this basis, a new application for omega-3 fatty acids has been proposed, concerning the treatment of several psychiatric disorders. The present article is an update of a previous systematic review and is aimed to provide a complete report of data published in the period between 1980 and 2019 on efficacy and tolerability of omega-3 fatty acids in psychiatric disorders. In July 2019, an electronic search on PUBMED, Medline and PsychINFO of all RCTs, systematic reviews and meta-analyses on omega-3 fatty acids and psychiatric disorders without any filter or MESH restriction was performed. After eligibility processes, the final number of records included in this review was 126. One hundred and two of these studies were RCTs, while 24 were reviews and meta-analyses. The role of omega-3 fatty acids was studied in schizophrenia, major depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorders, eating disorders, substance use disorder and borderline personality disorder. The main evidence of the efficacy of omega-3 fatty acids has been obtained in treating depressive symptoms in patients with major depression and, to a lesser degree, bipolar depression. Some efficacy was also found in early phases of schizophrenia in addition to antipsychotic treatment, but not in the chronic phases of psychosis. Small beneficial effects of omega-3 fatty acids were observed in ADHD and positive results were reported in a few trials on core symptoms of borderline personality disorder. For other psychiatric disorders results are inconsistent. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications and Biotechnological Synthesis of Functional Lipids)

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