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
- 1Yantai University, Yantai, China
- 2Yantai Zhongwei Pet Food Co., Ltd, Yantai, Shandong Province, China
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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
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