title: Intake of a Western diet containing cod instead of pork alters fatty acid composition in tissue phospholipids and attenuates obesity and hepatic lipid accumulation in mice.
abstract: The content of the marine n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is far lower in lean than in fatty seafood. Cod filets contain less than 2g fat per kg, whereof approximately 50% is EPA and DHA. However, a large fraction of these n-3 PUFAs is present in the phospholipid (PL) fraction and may have high bioavailability and capacity to change the endocannabinoid profile. Here we investigated whether exchanging meat from a lean terrestrial animal with cod in a background Western diet would alter the endocannabinoid tone in mice and thereby attenuate obesity development and hepatic lipid accumulation. Accordingly, we prepared iso-caloric diets with 15.1 energy (e) % protein, 39.1 e% fat and 45.8 e% carbohydrates using freeze-dried meat from cod filets or pork sirloins, and using a combination of soybean oil, corn oil, margarine, milk fat, and lard as the fat source. Compared with mice receiving diets containing pork, mice fed cod gained less adipose tissue mass and had a lower content of hepatic lipids. This was accompanied by a lower n-6 to n-3 ratio in liver PLs and in red blood cells (RBCs) in the mice. Furthermore, mice receiving the cod-containing diet had lower circulating levels of the two major endocannabinoids, N-arachidonoylethanolamine and 2-arachidonoylglycerol. Together, our data demonstrate that despite the relatively low content of n-3 PUFAs in cod fillets, the cod-containing diet could exert beneficial metabolic effects.
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Nutrition and Seafood Research (NIFES), Bergen, Norway; Laboratory of Genomics and Molecular Biomedicine, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Ulrike
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Liisberg
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Nutrition and Seafood Research (NIFES), Bergen, Norway.
authors.forename: Kristin Røen
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Fauske
authors.affiliation: Department of Adipose Tissue Biology, Institute of Physiology Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Ondrej
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Kuda
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Nutrition and Seafood Research (NIFES), Bergen, Norway.
authors.forename: Even
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Fjære
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Nutrition and Seafood Research (NIFES), Bergen, Norway.
authors.forename: Lene Secher
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Myrmel
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Nutrition and Seafood Research (NIFES), Bergen, Norway.
authors.forename: Nina
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Norberg
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Nutrition and Seafood Research (NIFES), Bergen, Norway.
authors.forename: Livar
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Frøyland
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Nutrition and Seafood Research (NIFES), Bergen, Norway.
authors.forename: Ingvild Eide
authors.initials: IE
authors.lastname: Graff
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Nutrition and Seafood Research (NIFES), Bergen, Norway.
authors.forename: Bjørn
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Liaset
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Genomics and Molecular Biomedicine, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Karsten
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kristiansen
authors.affiliation: Department of Adipose Tissue Biology, Institute of Physiology Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kopecky
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Nutrition and Seafood Research (NIFES), Bergen, Norway; Laboratory of Genomics and Molecular Biomedicine, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Denmark. Electronic address: lise.madsen@nifes.no.
authors.forename: Lise
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Madsen
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D000818:Animals; D001095:Arachidonic Acids / Q000097:blood; D066273:Diet, Western / Q000009:adverse effects*; D063388:Endocannabinoids / Q000097:blood; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000378:metabolism; D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3 / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism; D043371:Fatty Acids, Omega-6 / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism; D055951:Functional Food; D048389:Gadus morhua; D005989:Glycerides / Q000097:blood; D050356:Lipid Metabolism; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008460:Meat; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D065626:Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease / Q000209:etiology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D009765:Obesity / Q000209:etiology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D010743:Phospholipids / Q000378:metabolism; D053284:Polyunsaturated Alkamides; D017747:Seafood
chemical_list: D001095:Arachidonic Acids; D063388:Endocannabinoids; D005227:Fatty Acids; D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3; D043371:Fatty Acids, Omega-6; D005989:Glycerides; D010743:Phospholipids; D053284:Polyunsaturated Alkamides; C094503:glyceryl 2-arachidonate; C078814:anandamide
keywords: Diet; Dietary lipids; Endocannabinoids; Fish oil; Liver; Obesity; Phospholipids