Oxidized food lipids regulating lipid metabolism

Consumption of foods rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids is considered healthy. At the same time, Western diet is characterized by intake of processed foods. However, polyunsaturated fatty acids are easily converted to oxidized lipids during food processing and storage. Despite traditional cooking techniques by exposing food to heat prior to consumption, scientific studies investigating the effect of heated food lipids on human health are scarce. Previous reports indicate regulations of lipid metabolism by oxidized lipids in obese and diabetic subjects. However, it is not yet known which oxidized lipids are formed in foods and influence the energy metabolism after digestion and absorption. In the current project, the generation of oxidized lipids in foods, their fate during digestion, absorption and metabolization as well as their effects on lipid metabolism will be investigated. As the lipid metabolism is associated with the mobility of the lipids in the cell membrane, the so-called membrane fluidity, nutrient transport through membrane receptors might be influenced by oxidized lipids. We, therefore, also aim to investigate the effects of oxidized lipids on glucose and fatty acid uptake as well as lipid accumulation in heart and liver cells as well as in mini-organs, so-called liver organoids. By showing differential effects of oxidized and unoxidized lipids on the lipid metabolic pathways the project could identify lipid compounds exerting detrimental and beneficial effects on the lipid metabolism. The project results will reveal cooking techniques which promote formation of oxidized lipids in foods with detrimental effects on the energy metabolism and how the generation of these oxidized lipids can be inhibited. Unlike previous approaches, we want to cover oxidation products from its appearance in food, thereby also considering their digestion and absorption, to the influences on lipid metabolic pathways. It will break new ground in research if a link to metabolic dysfunction, such as diabetes and obesity, can be established.