title: Dietary plasmalogen increases erythrocyte membrane plasmalogen in rats.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Many disorders with plasmalogen deficiency have been reported. Replenishment or replacement of tissue plasmalogens of these disorders would be beneficial to the patients with these disorders, but effects of dietary plasmalogen on mammals have not been reported.
  
  
  METHODS
  Plasmalogens were purified from chicken skin. The purified plasmalogens consisted of 96.4% ethanolamine plasmalogen (PlsEtn), 2.4% choline plasmalogen (PlsCho) and 0.5% sphingomyelin (SM). A diet containing 0.1% the purified plasmalogens (PlsEtn diet) was given to rats. Relative composition of phospholipids was measured by a high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method that can separate intact plasmalogens and all other phospholipid classes by a single chromatographic run.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The PlsEtn diet given to Zucker diabetic fatty (ZDF) rats for 4 weeks caused decreases of plasma cholesterol and plasma phospholipid as compared to control diet. The other routine laboratory tests of plasma including triacylglycerol, glucose, liver and renal functions, albumin, and body weight were not different. Relative compositions of erythrocyte PlsEtn and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) increased, and that of phosphatidylcholine (PC) decreased in PlsEtn diet group. The PlsEtn diet given to normal rats for 9 weeks again caused decrease of plasma cholesterol and phospholipid, and it induced increase of relative composition of PlsEtn of the erythrocyte membrane. The other routine laboratory tests of plasma and body weight were not different.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Dietary PlsEtn increases relative composition of PlsEtn of erythrocyte membranes in normal and ZDF rats, and it causes decreases of plasma cholesterol and plasma phospholipids. Dietary PlsEtn for 9 weeks seemingly causes no adverse effect to health of normal rats.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Rheological Function of Food, 2241 Kubara, Hisayama-chou, Kasuya-gun, Fukuoka 811-2501, Japan. mawatari@rheology.po-jp.com
authors.forename: Shiro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mawatari
authors.forename: Toshihiko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Katafuchi
authors.forename: Kiyotaka
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Miake
authors.forename: Takehiko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fujino
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D004910:Erythrocyte Membrane / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D010713:Phosphatidylcholines / Q000097:blood; D010714:Phosphatidylethanolamines / Q000097:blood; D010743:Phospholipids / Q000097:blood; D010955:Plasmalogens / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000097:blood*; D051381:Rats; D011924:Rats, Zucker
chemical_list: D010713:Phosphatidylcholines; D010714:Phosphatidylethanolamines; D010743:Phospholipids; D010955:Plasmalogens; C483858:phosphatidylethanolamine; D002784:Cholesterol