Fatty Acid Composition, Molecular Species, and Ameliorating Effects of Tilapia Head Phospholipids on High-Fat Diet-Induced Metabolic Syndrome in Mice.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The fish head contains a large number of bioactive lipids for preparing functional foods. In this study, we analyzed the fatty acid components and molecular species of tilapia head phospholipids (TH-PL), and investigated the preventive effect of them on metabolic syndrome (MS). METHODS: Twenty-three fatty acids were identified in TH-PL, and the percentage of n-3 PUFA and n-6 PUFA was high, occupying 48.21% of total fatty acids. And sixty-two phospholipids (PL) molecular species belonging to seven types of PL were identified using UPLC-Q-TOF-MS. The contents of the various types of TH-PL were generally in the order PC > PE > SM > PS > LPC > PI > LPE. Among them, PC (16:0/18:1), PE (P-16:0/22:4), PS (18:0/22:5), LPC (16:0), PI (16:0/20:4), LPE (18:0), and SM (d16:0/18:1) were the major molecular species of TH-PL. Moreover, animal experiments were conducted to evaluate the preventive effect of TH-PL on high-fat diet (HFD)-induced MS mice. RESULTS: Animal experiments revealed that TH-PL could significantly inhibit obesity, improve insulin resistance and dyslipidemia in high-fat diet (HFD)-induced MS mice. Intake of TH-PL could also block lipid synthesis in the liver by modulating the expression of lipogenesis-related genes and proteins, such as up-regulation of AMPK and down-regulation of PPARγ, SREBP-1c, and FAS. In addition, TH-PL could relieve MS directly and indirectly by counteracting gut microbiota disturbance caused by HFD. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggested that it may be a good choice to develop new functional foods containing TH-PL for dietary intervention in MS.