The comparison of arachidonic acid-enriched phosphatidylcholine and triglyceride on defending nerve injury

Previous research has shown that arachidonic acid (AA) performs a vital function in neural development and protection. However, the study on the different lipid forms of AA remains absent. In this study, we evaluated the neural benefits of arachidonic acid-enriched phosphatidylcholine (PC-AA) and triglyceride (TG-AA) on Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) caused by hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Both PC-AA and TG-AA preprotection protected C. elegans from H2O2-induced behavioral deficits and neuronal damage by significantly increasing the daf-16 gene and the subsequent genes sod-3 and ctl-2 to alleviate oxidative stress, while regulating the mev-1, clk-1, and atp-2 genes to improve the expression of the mitochondrial respiratory chain complexes. Interestingly, PC-AA significantly increased the level of tph-1 to protect serotonergic neurons and improved mitochondrial ATP levels and membrane potential to improve mitochondrial function compared with TG-AA. In conclusion, PC-AA is a promising supplement to alleviate oxidative stress-induced neurological damage.