Long-chain monounsaturated fatty acids improve endothelial function with altering microbial flora.

Fish oil-derived long-chain monounsaturated fatty acids (LCMUFAs) with a carbon chain length longer than 18 units ameliorate cardiovascular risk in mice. In this study, we investigated whether LCMUFAs could improve endothelial functions in mice and humans. In a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, multi-center study, healthy subjects were randomly assigned to either an LCMUFA oil (saury oil) or a control oil (olive and tuna oils) group.

Determination of antihypertensive peptides from an izumi shrimp hydrolysate.

The izumi shrimp (Plesionika izumiae Omori, 1971) is an unused resource which can be caught off the southern coast of Tokushima Prefecture. We have previously found that an izumi shrimp hydrolysate significantly inhibited the age-associated spontaneous increase in blood pressure in stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats. In this present study, two angiotensin I-converting enzyme inhibitory peptides were isolated from an izumi shrimp hydrolysate by using high-performance liquid chromatography, and their amino acid sequences were determined to be Val-Trp-Tyr-His-Thr and Val-Trp.