Effect of supplemental pantothenic acid on lipid metabolism and antioxidant function of Apis mellifera worker bees

Abstract

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of pantothenic acid (PA) on the lipid metabolism, and antioxidant function of Apis mellifera workers. The results showed that ether extract (EE) content of bees’ body was significantly decreased when workers were supplemented with 147 mg/kg PA (P < 0.05). Further, supplemental PA reduced triglycerides (TG) and total cholesterol (TCHO) content in the hemolymph (P < 0.05), while 39.2 mg/kg PA supplementation improved hemolymph high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c) concentration, while 261.6 mg/kg PA reduced low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c) concentration (P < 0.05). C12:0, C14:1, and C18:0 content values were notably increased in PA-supplemented groups, while those of C14:0, C18:2n-6, C20:4n-6, polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), and PUFA/saturated fatty acids were decreased (P < 0.05), while levels correlated with those of dietary PA. Malondialdehyde (MDA) content showed a downward trend in response to PA supplementation; however, total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD) was increased (P < 0.05). Furthermore, fatty acid synthase (FAS) mRNA levels were significantly downregulated in bees supplemented 9.8, 19.6, and 39.2 mg/kg (P < 0.05) and lipase activity significantly improved following supplementation with 39.2, 78.4, and 147 mg/kg PA (P < 0.05). Thus, dietary PA significantly influenced worker bee lipid metabolism, and improved antioxidant function.

Keywords:

• Honey bee
• pantothenic acid
• diet
• lipid metabolism
• antioxidant function

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was financially supported by special funds from the Taishan industry leading talent Program, Shandong, agricultural fine varieties breeding projects (2017LZN006), and the earmarked fund for the China Agriculture Research System (No. CARS-44).