Herbal Artichoke Promotes Healthy Levels of Free Fatty Acids

By Kyle J. Norton


Free fatty acids found in fats and oils and in cell membranes are the by-products produced in the metabolism of fat in adipose tissues.

In other words, free fatty acids are produced by breaking down fats into fatty acids, which can then be absorbed into the blood.

Fatty acids can be used as fuel for the cells if glucose is not available for energy.

Free fatty acids play a critical role in the maintenance of our body functioning, including
* Cell signaling through the formation of the of eicosanoids, a group of signaling molecules involved in the immune response.

* In metabolism, FFAs play essential roles in the regulation of energy metabolism and mediation of a wide range of metabolic processes.

* In cells, FFAs are used for the formation of cell membrane or wall.

* More importantly, FFAs also have a strong effect on the endothelial function and dysfunction.

Dr. Carmen Gonzalez, the lead scientist in the examination of the role of free fatty acids wrote, "FFARs have been targeted in drug development for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome. FFAs upregulate transcription of uncoupling proteins, increasing their expression in brain, cardiac, and skeletal muscle that may be protective or cytotoxic, depending on the cellular energy state".

Artichoke is a perennial thistle of Cynara cardunculus species of the Cynara genus, belongings to the family Carduoideae native to Southern Europe around the Mediterranean.

The herbal plant has been used in traditional medicine as a liver protective and detoxified agent, and to treat digestive disorders, abdominal pain gas and bloating, etc.

With an aim to find a natural ingredient for the improvement of healthy levels of free fatty acids (FFAs) in human, researchers examined the artichoke bracts (AB) in an animal model.

The study included a total of 120 rabbits aged 38 days divided into three groups fed with different isonitrogenous and isocaloric diets supplemented with AB at 0%, 5%, and 10%.

At 96 days of age, after observing the carcasses of 12 rabbits slaughtered in an experimental slaughterhouse without fasting, researchers found that the levels of α-linolenic acid proportion were decreased with the injection of AB supplementation from 3.58% to 2.59% in the LD muscle and from 4.74% to 3.62% in the perirenal fat.

Furthermore, the meat ether extract (FFAs) content also was increased from 0.68% to 0.94% on fresh matter basis by the injection of AB supplementation.

The levels of n-6/n-3 ratio increased significantly with increasing AB inclusion from 7.15 to 10.20 in the LD muscle and from 6.68 to 9.35 in the perirenal fat.

The results suggested that artichoke has a strong impact on improving quality and fatty acid composition.

Moreover, in order to reveal additional information about artichoke on fatty acids, researchers launched an investigation of Nigella sativa, lupin and artichoke seed oils' fatty acids (FA, as methyl esters) using gas chromatographic analysis (GLC).

At the end of the experiment, researchers found that three seed oils are rich in FFAs including oleic and linoleic acid content.

According to the results from the high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) assay, artichoke oil was unique in having a high content of 5-stigma-, 7-stigma-, and avenasterol compared to those of Nigella sativa, Lupin, particularly in levels of FSG and ASG.

The findings lead us to say that artichoke seed oil can be recommended as healthy oils and folk medicine, according to Dr. M Hassanein MM, the lead scientist at the National Research Centre, Fats, and Oils Dept, Egypt.

Taken altogether, artichoke (seed oils) may be considered a healthy choice of free fatty acids for reducing the risk of diseases associated with high blood pressure, insulin resistance, high triglycerides, and low “good” HDL cholesterol levels, pending to the validation of larger sample size and multicenter human study

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Author Biography
Kyle J. Norton (Scholar, Master of Nutrition, All right reserved)
Health article writer and researcher; Over 10.000 articles and research papers have been written and published online, including worldwide health, ezine articles, article base, health blogs, self-growth, best before it's news, the karate GB daily, etc.,.
Named TOP 50 MEDICAL ESSAYS FOR ARTISTS & AUTHORS TO READ by Disilgold.com Named 50 of the best health Tweeters Canada - Huffington Post
Nominated for shorty award over last 4 years
Some articles have been used as references in medical research, such as international journal Pharma and Bioscience, ISSN 0975-6299.

References
(1) Dried artichoke bracts in rabbits nutrition: effects on the carcass characteristics, meat quality and fatty-acid composition by Dabbou S1, Gasco L1, Gai F2, Zoccarato I1, Rotolo L1, Dabbou Fekih S3, Brugiapaglia A1, Helal AN3, Peiretti PG. (PubMed)
(2) Investigation of lipids profiles of Nigella, lupin and artichoke seed oils to be used as healthy oils by M Hassanein MM1, El-Shami SM, El-Mallah MH. (PubMed)
(3) Role of Free Fatty Acids in Physiological Conditions and Mitochondrial Dysfunction by Zbigniew K. Binienda, Sumit Sarkar, Sonia Silva-Ramirez, Carmen Gonzalez. (Scientific Research)