title: Furan fatty acid as an anti-inflammatory component from the green-lipped mussel Perna canaliculus.
abstract: A lipid extract of Perna canaliculus (New Zealand green-lipped mussel) has reportedly displayed anti-inflammatory effects in animal models and in human controlled studies. However, the anti-inflammatory lipid components have not been investigated in detail due to the instability of the lipid extract, which has made the identification of the distinct active components a formidable task. Considering the instability of the active component, we carefully fractionated a lipid extract of Perna canaliculus (Lyprinol) and detected furan fatty acids (F-acids). These naturally but rarely detected fatty acids show potent radical-scavenging ability and are essential constituents of plants and algae. Based on these data, it has been proposed that F-acids could be potential antioxidants, which may contribute to the protective properties of fish and fish oil diets against chronic inflammatory diseases. However, to date, in vivo data to support the hypothesis have not been obtained, presumably due to the limited availability of F-acids. To confirm the in vivo anti-inflammatory effect of F-acids in comparison with that of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), we developed a semisynthetic preparation and examined its anti-inflammatory activity in a rat model of adjuvant-induced arthritis. Indeed, the F-acid ethyl ester exhibited more potent anti-inflammatory activity than that of the EPA ethyl ester. We report on the in vivo activity of F-acids, confirming that the lipid extract of the green-lipped mussel includes an unstable fatty acid that is more effective than EPA.
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan. wakimoto@mol.f.u-tokyo.ac.jp
authors.forename: Toshiyuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wakimoto
authors.forename: Hikaru
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kondo
authors.forename: Hirohiko
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nii
authors.forename: Kaori
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kimura
authors.forename: Yoko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Egami
authors.forename: Yusuke
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Oka
authors.forename: Masae
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yoshida
authors.forename: Eri
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kida
authors.forename: Yiping
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ye
authors.forename: Saeko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Akahoshi
authors.forename: Tomohiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Asakawa
authors.forename: Koichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Matsumura
authors.forename: Hitoshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ishida
authors.forename: Haruo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nukaya
authors.forename: Kuniro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tsuji
authors.forename: Toshiyuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kan
authors.forename: Ikuro
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Abe
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001169:Arthritis, Experimental / Q000188:drug therapy; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D005663:Furans / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology; D006801:Humans; D008055:Lipids / Q000737:chemistry; D008297:Male; D015394:Molecular Structure; D017685:Oncorhynchus keta / Q000378:metabolism; D049883:Perna / Q000737:chemistry*; D051381:Rats; D011917:Rats, Inbred Lew; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013737:Testis / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; D005227:Fatty Acids; D005663:Furans; D008055:Lipids; C418997:lyprinol