Search

The effect of dietary fish oil containing eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid on blood viscosity was compared with that of corn oil. Male Sprague-Dawley rats at 4 weeks old were fed the experimental diets for 3 weeks, and the blood viscosity of the two groups was compared with a Micro Channel Array Flow Analyzer (MC-FAN). The viscosity of heparinized whole blood of the fish oil group was significantly lower than that of the corn oil group, although no significant difference was observed in the deformability of the red blood cells. Frequent platelet aggregations were observed only in the corn oil group in the images of a videocamera equipped with a MC-FAN. The arachidonic acid level in phospholipids of the plasma containing platelet was higher in the corn oil group than in the fish oil group. These findings suggest that the dietary fish oil improved the whole blood viscosity mainly by retarding the platelet aggregation ability, not by increasing the deformability of red blood cell membrane.

Seven kinds of angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory peptides were isolated from the hydrolysates of wakame (Undaria pinnatifida) by Protease S "Amano" (from Bacillus stearothermophilus) by using three-step high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) on a reverse-phase column. These peptides were identified by amino acid composition analysis, sequence analysis, and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS), as Val-Tyr (IC(50) = 35.2 microM), Ile-Tyr (6.1 microM), Ala-Trp (18.8 microM), Phe-Tyr (42.3 microM), Val-Trp (3.3 microM), Ile-Trp (1.5 microM), and Leu-Trp (23.6 microM). These peptides have resistance against gastrointestinal proteases in vitro. Each peptide was determined to have an antihypertensive effect after a single oral administration in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). Among them, the blood pressure significantly decreased by Val-Tyr, Ile-Tyr, Phe-Tyr, and Ile-Trp in a dose of 1 mg/kg of body weight (BW). The present study showed that antihypertensive effect in the hydrolysates of wakame by Protease S "Amano" was attributed to these peptides.

Aim: The angiotensin-I-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory and antihypertensive activities of wakame hydrolysates have been investigated in several studies. Methods: Wakame (Undaria pinnatifida) was hydrolyzed using 17 kinds of proteases and the inhibitory activity of the hydrolysates for ACE was measured. Of these hydrolysates 4 with potent ACE inhibitory activity were administered singly and orally to spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). Results: The systolic blood pressure of SHR decreased significantly after single oral administration of protease S ‘Amano’ and proleather FG-F hydrolysates (10 mg protein/kg body weight). In a long-term feeding experiment, 7-week-old SHR were fed standard chow supplemented with protease S ‘Amano’-derived wakame hydrolysates for 10 weeks. In SHR fed the 1 and 0.1% wakame hydrolysates, elevation of systolic blood pressure was still significantly suppressed for 7 weeks. Conclusions: The hydrolysates derived from wakame by protease S ‘Amano’ have a powerful ACE-inhibitory activity (IC50 = 86 µg protein/ml) and were effective in spite of their slight bitterness as ‘physiologically functional food’ with antihypertensive activity.

Mitochondrial uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) is usually expressed only in brown adipose tissue (BAT) and a key molecule for metabolic thermogenesis to avoid an excess of fat accumulation. However, there is little BAT in adult humans. Therefore, UCP1 expression in tissues other than BAT is expected to reduce abdominal fat. Here, we show reduction of abdominal white adipose tissue (WAT) weights in rats and mice by feeding lipids from edible seaweed, Undaria pinnatifida. Clear signals of UCP1 protein and mRNA were detected in WAT of mice fed the Undaria lipids, although there is little expression of UCP1 in WAT of mice fed control diet. The Undaria lipids mainly consisted of glycolipids and seaweed carotenoid, fucoxanthin. In the fucoxanthin-fed mice, WAT weight significantly decreased and UCP1 was clearly expressed in the WAT, while there was no difference in WAT weight and little expression of UCP1 in the glycolipids-fed mice. This result indicates that fucoxanthin upregulates the expression of UCP1 in WAT, which may contribute to reducing WAT weight.

The angiotensin-I-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory and antihypertensive activities of wakame hydrolysates have been investigated in several studies.Wakame (Undaria pinnatifida) was hydrolyzed using 17 kinds of proteases and the inhibitory activity of the hydrolysates for ACE was measured. Of these hydrolysates 4 with potent ACE inhibitory activity were administered singly and orally to spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR).The systolic blood pressure of SHR decreased significantly after single oral administration of protease S 'Amano' and proleather FG-F hydrolysates (10 mg protein/kg body weight). In a long-term feeding experiment, 7-week-old SHR were fed standard chow supplemented with protease S 'Amano'-derived wakame hydrolysates for 10 weeks. In SHR fed the 1 and 0.1% wakame hydrolysates, elevation of systolic blood pressure was still significantly suppressed for 7 weeks.The hydrolysates derived from wakame by protease S 'Amano' have a powerful ACE-inhibitory activity (IC(50) = 86 microg protein/ml) and were effective in spite of their slight bitterness as 'physiologically functional food' with antihypertensive activity.