Digestion, Absorption, and Metabolism Characteristics of EPA-Enriched Phosphoethanolamine Plasmalogens Based on Gastrointestinal Functions in Healthy Mice

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Abstract
EPA-enriched phosphoethanolamine plasmalogens (EPA-pPE), widely present in marine creatures, is a unique glycerophospholipid with EPA at the sn-2 position of glycerol backbone. EPA-pPE has been reported to exhibit numerous distinctive bioactivities. However, the digestion, absorption and metabolism characteristics of EPA-pPE in vivo are not clear, which restrict the molecular mechanism analysis related to its distinctive activities. The aim of the present study was to illustrate the digestion, absorption and metabolism characteristics of EPA-pPE by lipid analysis in serum, intestinal wall and content after oral administration of EPA-pPE emulsion. Results showed the EPA percentage of total fatty acids in serum was increasing over time, with two peaks at 5 and 10 h by 1.89±0.2 and 2.58±0.27, respectively, then fell from 1.89±0.17 at 10h to 1.35±0.16 at16h. In small intestinal content, EPA-pPE was hydrolyzed to lyso-phospholipids and EPA by phospholipases A2, the vinyl ether bond was retained at the sn-1 position. The released EPA could be quickly taken up into the enterocytes and enter circulation. The comparison of simulated digestion in vitro showed that the distinct digestion and absorption process of EPA-pPE was a unique phenomenon. EPA could be retained in serum at high level for a substantial period of time, which suggested us that EPA-pPE was not just a short-lived circulating molecular.
Funding Information
  • Shandong Province (U1606403)
  • Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China (201762028, 201812017)
  • Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China (2018YFD0901103)
  • China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2017M620294)
  • National Natural Science Foundation of China (31901688, U1606403)
  • Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province (ZR2019QC004)
  • Qingdao Postdoctoral Application Foundation
  • Laboratory for Marine Drugs and Bioproducts, Pilot National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology (LMDBKF201807)

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