Research into lipid peroxidation-induced protein modification has been ongoing for many years. Recent studies on lipo-oxidation shows the occurrence of another type of protein modification, amide-type adduct formation by lipid hydroperoxide, as well as classical aldehyde-derived protein modifications. The amide-type modifications can be either classified as alkylamide and carboxyalkylamide according to the formed structures. As an alkylamide-type adduct, Nepsilon-(hexanoyl)lysine can be formed by the reaction of peroxidized n-6 fatty acid with lysine. Nepsilon-(propanoyl)lysine is considered to be generated from oxidation of n-3 fatty acid with lysine. The generation pattern of both might be useful for classification of which fatty acids are more involved in oxidation in vivo. Since the alkylamide type-adducts are relatively stable and detectable from biological specimens like urine, these adducts, especially Nepsilon-(hexanoyl)lysine, are used as reliable markers for not only oxidative stress evaluation but also development of functional food.
Copyright 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.