ABSTRACT The key pathogenesis of atherosclerosis is lipid disorders resulting from aberrant liver metabolism and release of lipids into the bloodstream, leading to endothelial damage and deposition of lipids beneath the endothelial layer. Currently, there exists a limited amount of information pertaining to alterations in liver and blood lipid metabolism. This study aimed to examine the lipid profile associated with the liver and plasma of ApoE −/− mice. ApoE −/− mice were selected because one high‐fat dietary challenge produces aortic lesions and hepatic steatosis in the same animal, allowing plaque and hepatic lipid disturbance to be sampled together. Mice were randomly divided into a normal diet (ND) group and a high‐fat diet (HFD) group. To validate the atherosclerosis model, histopathologic analysis techniques such as HE stain, Oil Red O stain, and Masson stain were employed. The lipid profile in both liver and plasma was evaluated using UHPLC‐Q Exactive plus MS, utilizing positive and negative ionization modes. In comparison to the ND group, the HFD group exhibited elevated levels of lipid deposition, plaque area, and collagen fiber. Specifically, the liver contained 40 distinct lipids, while the plasma contained 177 distinct lipids. Further examination demonstrated that 11 distinct lipids exhibited differential content in both the liver and plasma. This study demonstrated the existence of a comprehensive lipid profile in the liver and plasma of atherosclerotic mice, with a particular emphasis on PC and TG, which may provide a new biomarker and a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying atherosclerosis.
ABSTRACT The 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs) issued nutrition recommendations, some of which have been praised by the nutrition community while others have been questioned based on the lack of supporting evidence. The recommendations about calorie control, emphasis on nutrient density, vegetables, fruits, and whole grains, and limiting added sugars, sodium, and alcohol are based on strong evidence and have been carried forward from previous DGAs. The recommendations to limit ultra‐processed foods and added sugars both per meal and per product have been well‐received. The controversial recommendations relate to the type of fat recommended (e.g., “healthy” fats that include butter and beef tallow) and the omission of guidance about seed oils high in unsaturated fatty acids, notably polyunsaturated fatty acids. The food‐based guidance (consuming full‐fat dairy products, butter and beef tallow, and animal products such as red meat) does not align with the long‐standing recommendation to limit saturated fat to < 10% of calories. Concerns have also been expressed about the higher protein recommendation as well as the recommendation to consume 20 g (or more) with each meal. Moreover, there are questions about the placement of animal foods at the top and whole grains at the bottom of the new “food pyramid”. Herein we summarize the evidence in support of, and in disagreement with, the controversial new DGAs. Global dietary recommendations both in support of and not in alignment with some of the DGAs are reviewed. Strategies for widespread adoption of the DGAs are mentioned.
ABSTRACT Edible mushrooms contain little lipid, so their nutritional standing rests on which fatty acids it contains rather than how much. Wild taxa are unevenly characterized, and the species‐rich genus Ramaria hardly at all. We report the first fatty‐acid dataset for the genus, determined by gas chromatography with flame‐ionization detection (GC‐FID) in 14 wild edible mushrooms from Akkuş (Ordu, Türkiye), 10 Ramaria taxa and four comparators, expressed as lipid‐quality indices and used to test whether lipid quantity predicts quality. Total lipid was low (1.8–4.1 g per 100 g dry weight). Eleven fatty acids were detected. In 13 of the 14 taxa the lipid was predominantly unsaturated (62%–89% of total fatty acids), dominated by oleic (18:1; 6.1%–54.0%) and linoleic acid (18:2; 25.1%–45.9%) over a modest palmitic background (16:0; 6.4%–16.2%). The polyunsaturated‐to‐saturated ratio (0.10–6.97) exceeded unity in 12 of the 14 taxa, and across the 13 the index of atherogenicity (0.13–0.71), index of thrombogenicity (0.07–1.06) and hypocholesterolemic/hypercholesterolemic ratio (2.37–10.68) were generally favorable, R. broomei marking the least favorable end. Two departures stand out. Hydnum repandum and Cantharellus cibarius carried α‐linolenic acid at 41.1% and 40.3% with near‐balanced n − 6/ n − 3 ratios, tentative pending mass‐spectrometric confirmation; Lactarius piperatus inverted the pattern, stearic acid alone accounting for 73.9% and raising its index of thrombogenicity to 11.67. Total lipid bore no relation to saturated or unsaturated proportions (Spearman ρ = 0.05 and −0.05). Quantity and quality therefore vary independently: the nutritional case for these mushrooms rests on compositional profiling rather than on gravimetric fat content.
Gut bacteria can convert dietary fatty acids into oxygenated metabolites called oxylipins, which can exert potent lipid mediator functions. The oxylipins derived from C-18 fatty acids are termed octadecanoids and associate with multiple disorders including allergy and metabolic dysregulation. This study presents the synthesis of 17 octadecanoids possessing a hydroxy group (n = 9) or a ketone (n = 8) on the 10- or 13-positions. The products of these two series were prepared for the linoleic acid (LA), alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) and gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) pathways. The synthetic strategies provided 17 putative microbial metabolites of C-18 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) with high purities, in 5-13 steps and overall yields from 1.5%-37%. To study the biological formation of these compounds, the parent PUFAs (LA, ALA, GLA) were fed to cultures of Enterococcus faecalis U150 and Lactobacillus acidophilus CCUG 5917, and the octadecanoid products were measured by chiral supercritical fluid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (SFC-MS/MS). The compounds containing a hydroxy group on the 10- or 13-position are racemic, forming 9 enantiomeric pairs. Accordingly, of the 17 compounds synthesized, 9 were chiral and 8 were achiral resulting in 26 compounds. An additional 7 commercial bacteria-derived octadecanoids were measured to provide a screen of 33 compounds. Generally, PUFA supplementation resulted in selective formation of the associated octadecanoids. Of the 33 studied compounds, 16 were observed to be formed by E. faecalis and 13 by L. acidophilus. These findings demonstrate the bacteria species-specific formation of octadecanoids, which may have ramifications for associated biological response in the host.
