• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.153-161
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• 2013

Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are the major components of brain and retina, and are the essential fatty acids with important physiologically active functions. Thus, PUFAs should be provided to children, and are very important in the brain growth and development for fetuses, newborn infants, and children. Omega-3 fatty acids decrease coronary artery disease and improve blood flow. PUFAs have been known to have anti-inflammatory action and improved the chronic inflammation such as auto-immune diseases or degenerative neurologic diseases. PUFAs are used for metabolic syndrome related with obesity or diabetes. However, there are several considerations related with intake of PUFAs. Obsession with the intake of unsaturated fatty acids could bring about the shortage of essential fatty acids that are crucial for our body, weaken the immune system, and increase the risk of heart disease, arrhythmia, and stroke. In this review, we discuss types, physiologic mechanism of action of PUFAs, intake of PUFAs for children, recommended intake of PUFAs, and considerations for the intake of PUFAs.

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.15-22
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• 2016

As a one of unsaturated fatty acid, polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) have multiple actions: as precursor of prostaglandins (PGs), steroid hormone synthesis and energy production in animal reproduction. PUFAs, which include omega-3 (n-3) and omega-6 (n-6), are derived from the diet and changed by diet, species, breed and season. The plasma membrane of spermatozoa in mammals contain various PUFAs. These composition of PUFAs regulate the membrane fluidity and cause lipid peroxidation via generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Induced lipid peroxidation by ROS decreased viability and motility of spermatozoa, and it is reduced by addition of antioxidant and low concentration of PUFAs. Because oocytes of animal have a high lipid components, process of oocyte maturation and embryo development are influenced by PUFAs. In in vitro study, oocyte maturation, embryo development, intracellular cAMP and MAPK activity were increased by treatment of n-3 ${\alpha}$-linolenic acid (ALA) during maturation, whereas n-6 linoleic acid (LA) negatively influenced. Also, inhibition of fatty acid metabolism in oocyte influenced blastocyst formation of cattle. PGs are synthesized from PUFAs and various PUFAs influence PGs via regulation of PG-endoperoxide synthase (PTGS). Steroid hormone synthesis from cholesterol is regulated by expression of steroid acute regulator (StAR) protein and mRNA. Exogenous n-3 and n-6 PUFAs altered sex hormone in animal through stimulate or inhibit StAR activity. Because PUFAs altered PG and steroid hormone synthesis, follicular development was influenced by PUFAs. This effect of unsaturated fatty acid could provide information for improvement of reproductive ability in animals.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.149-158
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• 2008

Labyrinthulids are unicellular heterotrophic marine microalgae. Two labyrinthulid strains, L4 and L75, which produce generous amounts of polyunsaturated fatty acids(PUFAs), were isolated from leaves floating in the coastal areas of Quang Ninh province, Vietnam, and Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, respectively. Both strains had spindle-shaped cells surrounded by ectoplasmic networks. Numerous oil bodies were observed in each cell, mostly in the vicinity of cell membranes. When soybean oil or soybean lecithin was used as a carbon source with peptone as a nitrogen source, the proportion of PUFAs reached 25-30% and 50-56% for L4 and L75, respectively. After 14 days of growth at $25^{\circ}C$, L4 produced 0.3 mg PUFAs/g-agar in PYA-SBO medium and 0.6 mg PUFAs/g-agar in PYA-SBL medium. In comparison, L75 produced 0.2 mg PUFAs/g-agar in both types of media. The differences between the two strains included changes in cellular morphology and the capacity for attaching tightly to fibers when cultured in liquid PYA medium containing 2% SBL. In addition, when the strains were grown under the same conditions, L4 had a higher growth rate and produced more PUFAs than L75.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.182-187
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• 2016

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Supplementation with n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) has been shown to generally decrease levels of innate immune markers and inflammatory cytokines, but the specific associations between blood levels of PUFAs and those of innate immune markers have not been investigated. Thus, the present study was conducted to test the hypothesis that innate immune markers as well as cytokines are negatively associated with n-3 PUFAs but positively associated with n-6 PUFAs in healthy adults. MATERIALS/METHODS: One hundred sixty-five healthy Korean adults aged 25-70 years old were included in this cross-sectional study. RESULTS: Serum levels of n-3 PUFAs, such as 18:3n3, 20:5n3, 22:5n3, and 22:6n3 were negatively correlated with eosinophil and basophil counts and $TNF-{\alpha}$, $IFN-{\gamma}$, IL-4, and IL-10 levels. Multivariate analysis also showed that serum levels of n-3 PUFAs were negatively associated with monocyte, eosinophil, and basophil counts and $TNF-{\alpha}$, $IFN-{\gamma}$, IL-4, and IL-12 levels. Additionally, the ratio of 20:4n6 to 20:5n3 was positively correlated with eosinophil counts and associated with $TNF-{\alpha}$, $IFN-{\gamma}$, and IL-4 levels. However, NK cell activity was not associated with serum fatty acid composition. CONCLUSIONS: Innate immune markers such as eosinophil, monocyte, and basophil counts were inversely associated with serum levels of n-3 PUFAs, but were positively associated with the 20:4n6/20:5n3 ratio in this population.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.259-263
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• 1999

Fish oil was hydrolyzed with Aspergillus oryzae lipase, Lipolase-100T. The hydrolysis characteristics of Lipolsae-100T were investigated. Lipolase-100T showed 1,3-positional specificity which hydrolyzed acyl chains combined on the 1 or 3 position of triglyceride into free fatty acids. Lipolase-100T represented another property that the saturated fatty acids composing the triglyceride were hydrolyzed more easily that the polyunsaturated fatty acids(PUFAs). n-3 PUFAs, such as C16:4, C20:5 and C22:6, were hardly hydrolyzed, so that the concentrations of those in the mixture of glycerides were increased according to hydrolysis time. Especially docosahexaenoic acid(DHA), C22:6 showed the highest increase in the concentration. This result explained that n-3 PUFAs were combined on 2-position of triglyceride. When the hydrolysis of fish oil with Lipolase-100T 0.4 wt% was performed for 120 hr, n-3 PUFAs wt% was increased to 50 wt% in the mixture of glycerides. This result was obtained due to the 1,3-positional specificity of Lipolase-100T and positional specificity of n-3 PUFAs.

• Proceedings of the PSK Conference
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• 2003.10b
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• pp.151.1-151.1
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• 2003

Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) play many important physiological roles on cellular process through the regulations of intracellular signaling. Recent clinical studies suggest that PUFAs such as n-3 fatty acids (docosahexaenoic acid, 22:6 and a-lnolenic acid, 18:3) may reduce the risk of incident Alzheimer's disease (AD). And also the reports regarding the decrease of n-3 fatty acids in AD brain support the correlation between PUFAs and AD. AD is a neurodegenerative disorder with pathological hallmarks of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. (omitted)

• KSBB Journal
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.90-95
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• 1998

Experiments on the process development for the concentration of polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFAs) such as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) from fish oil by using acyl chain specificity of Candida cylindracea lipase were performed. Five kinds of oils were hydrolyzed with Candida cylindracea lipase. Among then, Candida cylindracea lipase just had low activity on the PUFAs-rich fish oil. After the hydrolysis of fish oil, free fatty acid was removed and fatty acid components of glyceride mixtures were analyzed. When the hydrolysis was about 70%, the DHA content in the glyceride mixture was about three times more than that in the original fish oil. The EPA and stearidonic acid contents in the glyceride mixtures, however, were similar to that of the original fish oil. In this work, these results showed that the concentration process of PUFAs by using the acyl chain specificity of Candida cylindreacea lipase was effective in producing glycerides that contained a high concentration of PUFAs in good yield.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.9 no.5
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• pp.496-502
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• 2015

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: This study was performed to investigate the association between the dietary intake of fish and shellfish, and omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors in the middle-aged Korean female patients with Type 2 diabetes (T2D). SUBJECTS/METHODS: A cross-sectional analysis was performed with 356 female patients (means age: 55.5 years), who were recruited from the Huh's Diabetes Clinic in Seoul, Korea between 2005 and 2011. The dietary intake was assessed by a validated semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire and analyzed using the Computer Aided Nutritional Analysis program (CAN-Pro) version 4.0 software. RESULTS: In a multiple regression analysis after the adjustment for confounding factors such as age, BMI, duration of diagnosed T2D, alcohol consumption, fiber intake, sodium intake, and total energy intake, fish and shellfish intake of the subjects was negatively associated with triglyceride and pulse wave velocity (PWV). Omega-3 PUFAs intake was negatively associated with triglyceride, systolic blood pressures, diastolic blood pressures, and PWV. The multiple logistic regression analysis with the covariates showed a significant inverse relationship between the omega-3 PUFAs consumption and prevalence of hypertriglyceridemia [OR (95% CI) for greater than the median compared to less than the median: 0.395 (0.207-0.753)]. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that the consumption of fish and shellfish, good sources of omega-3 PUFAs, may reduce the risk factors for CVD in the middle-aged female patients with T2D.

• Annals of Clinical Neurophysiology
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.68-72
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• 2015

Background: The effects of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) on cerebral vessels have not been clarified until now. Thus we investigated the efficacy of omega-3 PUFAs supplementation on cerebral blood flow velocity and vascular resistance via transcranial doppler (TCD). Methods: Consecutive twenty patients (13 male and 7 female) with at least 1 cerebrovascular risk factor or a known cerebrovascular disease were enrolled. Patients were treated with omega-3 PUFAs (1 g, two times per day) for 12 weeks. Cerebral blood flow velocity, resistance index, and pulsatile index were checked before and after 12 weeks of treatment using TCD. Results: The change of resistance index in right MCA (from $0.58{\pm}0.07$ to $0.55{\pm}0.07$, p = 0.042) and left PCA (from $0.56{\pm}0.07$ to $0.53{\pm}0.06$, p = 0.037) showed significant improvement after 12 weeks of omega-3 PUFAs treatment. The changes in other vessels, however, failed to show any significant changes compared to the baseline. Conclusions: Omega-3 PUFAs treatment showed feasible efficacies for cerebral vascular resistances in this open label trial. To confirm these results, larger samples of patients and longer period of follow-up is warranted.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.50 no.6
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• pp.637-649
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• 2017

Lipid levels and fatty acid compositions of 20 species of subtropical fish caught off the coast of Jeju Island, Korea were determined. The fish were categorized according to total lipid (TL) content as follows; lean fish ($TL=1.19{\pm}0.32%$, n=10 species), low-fat fish ($TL=3.02{\pm}0.44%$, n=6 species) and medium-fat fish ($TL=6.87{\pm}1.23%$, n=4 species). The prominent fatty acids were saturated fatty acids (SFAs), at 16:0 and 18:0 monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs), at 18:1n-9 and 16:1n-7, and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), at 22:6n-3, 20:5n-3 and/or 20:4n-6. Across all species, the percentages of PUFAs and SFAs were $38.0{\pm}7.89%$ and $34.3{\pm}3.08%$, respectively, with no significant difference between both groups (P<0.05), but showed higher proportions than that of MUFA group ($27.8{\pm}7.23%$) (P<0.05). The proportion of n-3 PUFAs was $27.1{\pm}8.68%$ across all fish species, similar to levels in other fishes from Korea. These results suggest that subtropical fish from Jeju Island are a good source of n-3 PUFAs for humans.