| Summary: | Obesity is one of the leading causes for the development of metabolic disorders, such as insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Omega-3 fatty acids, found in seafood and marine oils, are shown to reduce obesity, lower blood lipid levels, change the composition of the gut microbiota and reduce the risk for cardiovascular diseases. The increased demand for seafood and marine oils has put pressure on sustainable fisheries, and the marine crustacean Calanus finmarchicus is an alternative and sustainable source of marine lipids. This oil is unique compared to other marine oils, in the sense that more than 85% of the lipids are wax esters, a lipid class where fatty acids are bound to fatty alcohols. The content of EPA and DHA is relatively low, while it is rich in stearidonic acid and monounsaturated fatty acids. In experimental studies, dietary supplementation with Calanus oil was shown to reduce obesity and obesity-related inflammation, improve glycaemic control, and protect the heart after an ischemic event. In this thesis we examined the effect of Calanus oil on obesity-induced alterations of the gut microbiota and, in addition, we wanted to find out whether the wax ester-derived fatty acids were able to protect cardiac H9c2 cells from lipotoxic stress (induced by exposure to palmitic acid). We found that Calanus oil had the tendency to change the microbial composition in the gut towards a healthier phenotype, although the changes were not statistically significant. The Calanus oil wax ester-derived fatty acids effectively, and in a dose-dependent manner, improved cell viability. This effect was associated with increased fatty acid oxidation, which will alleviate the lipotoxic stress in the cells. We conclude that Calanus oil and/or its wax ester-derived fatty acids can be used as a therapeutic approach to target obesity-induced metabolic disorders. Overvekt er en viktig årsak til utvikling av metabolske forstyrrelser som insulinresistens og type 2 diabetes, og man antar at mer enn 4 millioner mennesker dør ...
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