Abstract
The aim of the study was to assess the impact of semi-refined carrageenan (E407a) on the hydrophobic region of phospholipid bilayer in cell membranes of leukocytes exposed to the solution with high concentrations of this food additive. Materials and methods. Fluorescent probe (2-phenyl-phenanthro[9,10-d]-1,3-oxazole) was used to investigate the influence of E407a on the state of lipid bilayer in leukocytes extracted from rats and treated with a 5% solution of the food additive E407a during 4 hours. Results. The shapes of the probe fluorescence spectra did not differ in leukocytes of rats treated with the 5% solution of semi-refined carrageenan and white blood cells of control samples. Such findings suggest that exposure to the E407a solution causes no changes in the proton-donor ability of the media in the lipid membranes of leukocytes in the region where the probe locates. Conclusion. Exposure of white blood cell suspensions to the semi-refined carrageenan solution does not affect the membrane hydration of the hydrophobic region of leukocyte phospholipid bilayer.
Highlights
Marine polysaccharides have been successfully used in food technology to improve the texture and appearance of food products as gelling agents, thickeners and stabilizers due to their hydrocolloid properties [1]
Two parameters that characterize how probes are embedded in cell membranes were analyzed
I.e. the absence of the changes in the shape of the fluorescence spectra, indicate that no changes in the membrane hydration are detected in the area of hydrocarbon chains of phospholipids and the centre of the lipid bilayer of the cell membranes in leukocytes after exposure to the 5% solution of the food additive E407a during 4 hours
Summary
Marine polysaccharides have been successfully used in food technology to improve the texture and appearance of food products as gelling agents, thickeners and stabilizers due to their hydrocolloid properties [1] This group of compounds includes agar, alginates, and carrageenans. Several studies have demonstrated that carrageenans are able to trigger intestinal inflammation as a result of their oral exposure [3,4,5,6] This controversy of carrageenans has created grounds for re-evaluation of their safety in the food industry, and in 2018 the EFSA released a call for technical and toxicological data on carrageenan (E 407) for uses in foods for all population groups including infants below 16 weeks of age (EFSA-Q-number: EFSA-Q-2018-00771). The corresponding data will be collected until the end of 2022
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