Polyunsaturated Fats PUFA Good or Bad Part 1

Polyunsaturated Fats PUFA Good or Bad Part 1 is the main topic of this article. PUFA are a fatty acid subclass containing two or more carbon–carbon double bonds in their molecular backbone, α-linolenic acid (ALA), considered as essential. The chemical structure of Linoleic acid (LA) in a bent conformation is shown below. The reason why PUFA oils remain liquid at room temperature is due to the kinked nature of the molecule being unable to be packed tightly and form a solid state.

PUFA Chemistry

The position of the carbon-carbon double bonds in these carboxylic acid chains of fats are designated by Greek letters, the carbon atom closest to the carboxyl group being the alpha carbon, the next carbon beta etc. Omega-3 fatty acids have a double bond three carbons away from the methyl carbon, with omega-6 having the double bond six carbons away from the methyl carbon. The most common PUFAs contain 18 carbon atoms and are not produced by mammals and are classed as essential. 

PUFA Production

Since Polyunsaturated Fats (PUFA); good or bad part 1, serve important metabolic functions, are used throughout the food system and consumed in proportions vastly greater than just 50 years ago, the topic is relevant to discussions on metabolic health. Industrially produced PUFAs are commonly obtained by hydrolysis of fats from staple plant mono-crops, the process complicated by the instability of the compounds, leading to side reactions and colourisation. Steam hydrolysis often fails for this reason, while alkaline hydrolysis followed by acidification is expensive. In general, PUFAs are undesirable components of vegetable oils with efforts seen to reduce the amount in olive oil.

Myopia

Recent studies have challenged the belief that high blood glucose harms eye health or causes myopia. They questioned the previous idea about dietary sugars and diabetic cataracts. Cataracts and clouding of the eye lens are the leading causes of blindness worldwide. They are also common in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Researchers found immune cells migrating from the ciliary bodies of the eye to the lens. This migration triggers cellular changes that compromise lens function. It also causes damage to the retina. These changes can be detected years before metabolic syndromes develop.

One study suggested a dietary cause of the eye damage, demonstrating that a high PUFA intake which tends to precede obesity and T2DM was at fault, with the increased the formation of vitamin A degradation products, bisretinoids, in ocular tissues. Vitamin E aldehyde adducts / bisretinoids are formed when retinaldehyde reacts with the photoreceptor outer segment lipid, accumulating naturally with age in the human eye. With properties that cause adverse outcomes, such as photosensitivity, with the tendency to produce reactive oxygen forms such as singlet oxygen and superoxide anion. These reactive oxygen species further react with bisretinoids, leading to the release of molecular fragments with Di carbonyl and aldehyde.

Vitamin E

These degradation products are known to damage the retina directly. They are also linked to the formation of retina lipofuscin, a byproduct of Polyunsaturated Fats (PUFA) peroxidation. Linoleic acid is a causal factor for eye damage, which had been identified earlier. Dietary PUFA likely drives chronic and progressive pathology. Sugar has often been blamed for this issue. In this context, Vitamin E seems like a good therapeutic choice. It helps limit PUFA peroxidation and lipofuscin formation. Vitamin E, along with aspirin or eugenol, can reduce tissue accumulation. Vitamin E is hard to obtain from the diet. To get it, you would need to consume large amounts of sunflower seeds or wheat germ oil. These foods are high in LA and anti-nutrients due to being derived from reproductive plant parts.

The discoveries at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital demand a re-examination of current theories in understanding diabetic origins and complications, while developing potential non-surgical treatments.

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