Dietary Sphingomyelin Metabolism and Roles in Gut Health and Cognitive Development. Issue 2 (23rd October 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Jiang, Chenyu; Cheong, Ling-Zhi; Zhang, Xue; Ali, Abdelmoneim H; Jin, Qingzhe; Wei, Wei; Wang, Xingguo
• Is Part Of: Advances in nutrition. Volume 13:Issue 2(2022)
• Page Start: 474
• Page End: 491
• Publication Date: 2021-10-23
• Subjects: sphingolipid -- dairy products -- milk fat globule membrane -- brain development -- metabolism -- cholesterol; Nutrition -- Periodicals; Diet therapy -- Periodicals; Nutrition; Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; Nutritional Sciences; Periodicals; 613.205
• DOI: 10.1093/advances/nmab117
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2161-8313

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Sphingomyelin (SM) is a widely occurring sphingolipid that is a major plasma membrane constituent. Milk and dairy products are rich SM sources, and human milk has high SM content. Numerous studies have evaluated the roles of SM in maintaining cell membrane structure and cellular signal transduction. There has been a growing interest in exploring the role of dietary SM, especially from human milk, in imparting health benefits. This review focuses on recent publications regarding SM content in several dietary sources and dietary SM metabolism. SM digestion and absorption are slow and incomplete and mainly occur in the middle sections of the small intestine. This review also evaluates the effect of dietary SM on gut health and cognitive development. Studies indicate that SM may promote gut health by reducing intestinal cholesterol absorption in adults. However, there has been a lack of data supporting clinical trials. An association between milk SM and neural development is evident before childhood. Hence, additional studies and well-designed randomized controlled trials that incorporate dietary SM evaluation, SM metabolism, and its long-term functions on infants and children are required. Abstract : Statement of Significance : Sphingomyelin from food is increasingly recognized as bioactive lipids. This review provides new insights on the dietary sources and metabolism of sphingomyelin, as well as clinical trials on gut health and infant cognitive development.