Lipids, cholesterol and lipotropic nutrients: choline and inositol
Fay Paxton in Foundations of Naturopathic Nutrition, 2020
Lipids commonly consist of glycerol with attached fatty acids and are found in the diet mainly in the form of triglycerides (a glycerol unit with three attached fatty acids). Lipids are stored in fat cells (adipocytes) in adipose tissue as Triacylglycerols (TGs). TGs in lipoproteins in the bloodstream are first broken down by lipoprotein lipase produced by endothelial cells to form glycerol and free Fatty acids (FAs). Excess intake of lipids, especially Saturated FAs (SFAs), has been associated with overweight, abdominal obesity, type 2 diabetes, elevated serum cholesterol, cardiovascular disease, inflammatory disorders, gall bladder disease and cancer. Free inositol is absorbed by active transport across the intestinal wall by a sodium-dependent co-transporter. Inositol circulates as free inositol in the bloodstream, and is taken up by tissues via a similar sodium-dependent co-transporter process. Inositol deficiency in animals causes a loss of fat in the intestines (intestinal lipodystrophy) and accumulation of fats in the liver, leading to liver damage.
Introduction
Margit Hamosh in Lingual and Gastric Lipases: Their Role in Fat Digestion, 2020
In general terms the digestion and absorption of fat involves essentially the transport of water-insoluble molecules from one water phase, the lumen of the gastrointestinal tract, to another water phase, the lymph and plasma. This chapter aims to start with definitions of the terms lipid and lipase. Triglycerides (neutral fat) are the most abundant lipids in animal tissue and serve as an important energy source. Glycerides and non-phosphorus-containing lipids which result from the esterification of glycerol and fatty acids. Phospholipids, phosphorus-containing lipid compounds, may be subdivided into three classes: derivatives of glycerol-3-phosphate (phosphatidyl choline, phosphatidyl ethanolamine, phosphatidyl serine, and phosphatidyl inositol), sphingosine, and the glycoplipids. Fatty acids of animal origin are usually unbranched, monocarboxylic acids containing an even number of carbon atoms, varying from 2 to 24 in chain length. Storage lipid contains higher amounts of saturated fatty acids than do structural lipids.
Consideration of Specific Chelating Agents: Role of Phytic Acid and Other Phosphates as Chelating Agents
F. Howard Kratzer, Pran Vohra in Chelates in Nutrition, 2018
Orthophosphoric acid has three functional OH groups attached to P and is a good chelating agent. The phosphate molecules may be condensed in anhydride linkage after loss of water to form linear or cyclic polymers. The examples of these polymers are pyrophosphoric acid, tripolyphosphoric acid, trimetaphosphoric acid, and tetrametaphosphoric acid. The availability of minerals is improved by autoclaving the protein or by supplementation with ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid and some other chelating agents. E. Winterstein in 1897 extracted phytic acid from mustard seeds which yielded inositol and orthophosphoric acid on hydrolysis. Phytic acid is largely blamed for complexing dietary essential minerals in cereals and oilseeds and render them poorly available to monogastric animals. Phytate-protein complexes also play some role in this. A specific method for the estimation of phytic acid is lacking. Formation of phytic acid complexes with proteins is well established and the mechanism of the reaction is pH dependent.
The use of inositol(s) isomers in the management of polycystic ovary syndrome: a comprehensive review
Published in Gynecological Endocrinology, 2018
Antoaneta Gateva, Vittorio Unfer, Zdravko Kamenov
The aim of this review is to present the current data about the role of inositols in the management of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) women and in the prevention and treatment of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). We analyzed the available literature with key words PCOS, Myo-inositol, D-chiro-inositol, assisted reproductive technologies and GDM. The most recent literature would suggest that Myo-inositol, D-chiro-inositol and their combination in physiological ratio 40:1 could represent an important therapeutic strategy for the improvement of metabolic, hormonal and reproductive aspects of PCOS. In assisted reproductive technologies, however, myo-inositol and the combined treatment, despite D-chiro-inositol monotherapy, are able to improve clinical outcomes. Myo-inositol monotherapy results more effective in preventing and treating GDM even if a larger cohort of studies is needed to better clarify these results.
Myoinositol: A new marker of intrauterine growth restriction?
Published in Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 2013
Inositol is a cyclic sugar alcohol which occurs naturally in a variety of stereoisomers, the most common of which is myo-inositol. Inositol phosphoglycan molecules have been isolated from mammalian tissues and are a major component of the intracellular mediators of insulin action. The fetus with intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) activates a series of adaptive mechanisms to increase the chances for survival, such as a saving of glucose to ensure nutrition of the vital organs, with a consequent reduction in insulin secretion. It can be hypothesized that the reduced production of fetal insulin leads to an excretion of inositol from the intracellular to the extracellular compartment, with a consequent increase of the metabolite in plasma and urine and a decrease inside the cells. Recently, reports suggesting that the increase in extracellular myo-inositol may be a valid marker of an altered glucose metabolism during fetal development in IUGR have been published.
Inositol and human reproduction. From cellular metabolism to clinical use
Published in Gynecological Endocrinology, 2016
Ewa M. Milewska, Adam Czyzyk, Blazej Meczekalski, Alessandro D. Genazzani
Inositol is an organic compound of high biological importance that is widely distributed in nature. It belongs to the sugar family and is mainly represented by its two dominant stereoisomers: myo-inositol and D-chiro-inositol that are found in the organism in the physiological serum ratio 40:1. Inositol and its derivatives are important components of the structural phospholipids of the cell membranes and are precursors of the second messengers of many metabolic pathways. A high concentration of myoinositol is found in the follicular fluid and in semen. Inositol deficiency and the impairment of the inositol-dependent pathways may play an important role in the pathogenesis of insulin resistance and hypothyroidism. The results of the research also point out the potential beneficial role of inositol supplementation in polycystic ovarian syndrome and in the context of assisted reproduction technologies and in vitro fertilization. The main aim of the article is to overview the major inositol-dependent metabolic pathways and to discuss its importance for reproduction.