Dietary effect of pomegranate seed oil on immune function and lipid metabolism in mice

Yamasaki, Masao; Kitagawa, Takae; Koyanagi, Nami; Chujo, Hitomi; Maeda, Hidenori; Kohno-Murase, Junko; Imamura, Jun; Tachibana, Hirofumi; Yamada, Koji

doi:10.1016/j.nut.2005.03.009

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Volume 22, Issue 1 , Pages 54-59, January 2006

Dietary effect of pomegranate seed oil on immune function and lipid metabolism in mice

Masao Yamasaki, Ph.D.
- Department of Biochemistry and Applied BioScience, Faculty of Agriculture, Miyazaki University, Miyazaki, Japan
- Laboratory of Food Chemistry, Division of Applied Biological Chemistry, Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
- Corresponding author. Tel./fax: +81-985-58-7209.
Takae Kitagawa
- Laboratory of Food Chemistry, Division of Applied Biological Chemistry, Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
Nami Koyanagi, M.Sc
- Laboratory of Food Chemistry, Division of Applied Biological Chemistry, Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
Hitomi Chujo, Ph.D.
- Laboratory of Food Chemistry, Division of Applied Biological Chemistry, Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
Hidenori Maeda, M.Sc
- Laboratory of Food Chemistry, Division of Applied Biological Chemistry, Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
Junko Kohno-Murase, Ph.D.
- Plantech Research Institute, Yokohama, Japan
Jun Imamura, Ph.D.
- Plantech Research Institute, Yokohama, Japan
- Department of Bioresource Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Tamagawa University, Tokyo, Japan
Hirofumi Tachibana, Ph.D.
- Laboratory of Food Chemistry, Division of Applied Biological Chemistry, Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
Koji Yamada, Ph.D.
- Laboratory of Food Chemistry, Division of Applied Biological Chemistry, Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan

Received 7 December 2004; accepted 1 March 2005. published online 13 October 2005.

Abstract

Objectives

We evaluated the effects of dietary pomegranate seed oil (PSO), which contains high levels of punicic acid (9c, 11t, 13c-octadecatrienoic acid), on immune function and lipid metabolism in C57BL/6N mice.

Methods

Mice were fed experimental diets containing 0%, 0.12%, or 1.2% PSO for 3 wk.

Results

No significant differences were observed between growth patterns of the experimental groups. Splenocytes isolated from mice fed 0.12% or 1.2% PSO produced larger amounts of immunoglobulins G and M but not immunoglobulin A irrespective of stimulation with or without phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate and the calcium ionophore A23187. Dietary PSO did not affect the percentages of B cells or CD4-positive or CD8-positive T cells in splenocytes. Levels of interleukin-4, interferon-γ, and tumor necrosis factor-α production from splenocytes were comparable among all dietary groups. Analysis of serum lipid parameters showed significant increases in serum triacylglycerol and phospholipid levels but not in total cholesterol in the PSO groups. Serum, liver, epididymal, and perirenal adipose punicic acid levels were high with increases in dietary PSO level. However, punicic acid was not detected in splenocytes for any dietary group. Interestingly, 9c, 11t-conjugated linoleic acid level could be detected in serum, liver, and adipose tissues in mice fed the 0.12% or 1.2% PSO diet.