ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Nutr.

Sec. Nutrition and Food Science Technology

Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnut.2025.1615332

This article is part of the Research TopicUnlocking Marine Food Potentials: Empowering Bioactive Compounds, Precision Nutrition, and Sustainable Dietary SolutionsView all 4 articles

Subcritical Fluid and Molecular Distillation Extraction of Nannochloropsis gaditana Lipid and Its Metabolic Benefits in Hyperlipidemic Mice

Provisionally accepted
Ruilong  MengRuilong Meng1Yu  ZhangYu Zhang1Yishan  JiangYishan Jiang2Bin  LiBin Li2Xi  ChenXi Chen1Sun  ZhongliangSun Zhongliang1*Liqin  SunLiqin Sun1*
  • 1Yantai University, Yantai, China
  • 2Yantai Zhongwei Pet Food Co., Ltd, Yantai, Shandong Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

The marine microalga Nannochloropsis gaditana is a fast-growing species rich in long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), particularly eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and other bioactive compounds. In this study, lipids from N. gaditana powder were extracted and refined using subcritical butane combined with molecular distillation to obtain a highly purified lipid extract with increased EPA concentration (58.92% w/w) and improved biological activity. The anti-hyperlipidemic effects of the lipid extract were evaluated in female Kunming mice (4 weeks old) fed a high-fat diet. Results demonstrated that N. gaditana lipid supplementation significantly reduced body weight gain, serum triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), while elevating high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). Additionally, the lipid extract ameliorated hepatic inflammation (reduced TNF-α and IL-1β levels), attenuated oxidative stress (enhanced SOD, CAT, and GSH-Px activities), and modulated lipid metabolism enzymes (inhibited FAS, ACC, and HMGCR; upregulated LCAT). These findings highlight the potential of EPA-rich N. gaditana lipid as a natural and sustainable therapeutic strategy for managing hyperlipidemia and associated metabolic disorders.

Keywords: Nannochloropsis gaditana, Lipids, Subcritical extraction, Molecular distillation, anti-hyperlipidemia

Received: 21 Apr 2025; Accepted: 10 Jun 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Meng, Zhang, Jiang, Li, Chen, Zhongliang and Sun. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence:
Sun Zhongliang, Yantai University, Yantai, China
Liqin Sun, Yantai University, Yantai, China

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.