Effect of Japanese catfish Silurus asotus lipid intake on the lipid components of plasma and liver in adult mice

The effect of Japanese catfish Silurus asotus lipid intake on the lipid metabolism of male adult mice was determined by measuring the total cholesterol, triacylglycerol, phospholipid, and fatty acid content of plasma and liver. Mice were fed diets containing 5% lard, 5% Thai catfish oil, 5% Japanese catfish lipids, or 5% sardine lipids for 4 weeks. The arachidonic acid (20 : 4n-6) content was highest in the livers of mice fed the Japanese catfish lipid diet and docosahexaenoic acid (22 : 6n-3) content was higher in livers of the Japanese catfish lipid and sardine lipid diet groups than those of the lard and Thai catfish diet groups. However, no significant differences were observed in the 22 : 6n-3 levels in either plasma or liver between the Japanese catfish lipid and sardine lipid diet groups. Although the Japanese catfish lipid diet contains, by far, the highest cholesterol content (143 mg/100 g), there was no significant difference in the plasma cholesterol levels between the lard, Thai catfish oil and Japanese catfish lipid diet groups. However, the liver cholesterol levels of mice fed the Japanese catfish lipid diet were lower than those of mice fed the Thai catfish oil diet, and were similar to those of animals fed a sardine lipid diet. These results suggest that Japanese catfish lipids are suitable components of the diet for ingestion of 20 : 4n-6 and 22 : 6n-3, and for decreasing the cholesterol content of liver.