Fatty Acid Signatures as Nutritional Indices: Molecular Gateways to Health, Aging, and Functional Food Innovation
Abstract
Fatty acid signatures (FA signatures), defined as the relative distribution of saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fatty acids within specific biological compartments, have emerged as integrated indicators of dietary lipid exposure, endogenous metabolism, and tissue-specific lipid remodeling. Rather than serving solely as biomarkers of nutritional intake, FA signatures influence membrane architecture, cellular signaling, inflammatory regulation, mitochondrial function, and gene expression, linking dietary lipid quality with metabolic health, chronic disease susceptibility, and biological aging. This review critically synthesized current evidence on the biosynthesis, regulation, analytical assessment, and biological significance of FA signatures, with particular emphasis on cardiometabolic health, neuroinflammation, cognitive aging, and healthy longevity. We distinguish the complementary roles of conventional fatty acid profiling and high-resolution lipidomics in resolving fatty acid composition and molecular lipid species, while highlighting persistent analytical challenges, including biological matrix specificity and the limited resolution of positional and geometric fatty acid isomers. We further examine how integration of lipidomics with nutrigenomics, metabolomics, foodomics, and emerging computational approaches can improve mechanistic interpretation, biomarker discovery, and precision nutrition. Collectively, FA signatures represent dynamic metabolic…
Read the paper
Related studies
- eggNOG 5.0: a hierarchical, functionally and phylogenetically annotated orthology resource based on 5090 organisms and 2502 viruses
- Online Survival Analysis Software to Assess the Prognostic Value of Biomarkers Using Transcriptomic Data in Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer
- OptiType: precision HLA typing from next-generation sequencing data
- Nicotinic Cholinergic System and COVID-19: In Silico Identification of an Interaction between SARS-CoV-2 and Nicotinic Receptors with Potential Therapeutic Targeting Implications
- Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells have three Omega class glutathione S-transferases acting as 1-Cys thiol transferases
- Hemolysis at low blood flow rates: in-vitro and in-silico evaluation of a centrifugal blood pump
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.