Description
Bioactive compounds, including some fatty acids (FAs), can induce beneficial effects on body fat-content and metabolism. In this work, we have used C. elegans as a model to examine the effects of several FAs on body fat accumulation. Both omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids induced a reduction of fat content in C. elegans, with linoleic, gamma-linolenic and dihomo-gamma-linolenic acids being the most effective ones. These three FAs are sequential metabolites in PUFA synthesis pathway and the effects seem to be primarily due to dihomo-gamma-linolenic acid, being independent of transformation into omega-3 or arachidonic acid. Gene expression analyses show that peroxisomal beta oxidation is the main mechanism involved in this fat-loss. All these results point out the importance of further analysis of the activity of these omega-6 FAs, due to their potential application in obesity and related diseases.