Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) enriched phospholipids (EPA-PL) are widely distributed in marine products. It has been reported that the protective effects of the mixture of EPA and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) on Parkinson’s disease (PD), however, it is hard to confirm the improvement of EPA alone on PD. In the present study, EPA-PL was extracted from the sea cucumber (Cucumaria frondosa) to compare the effects of EPA-PL and commercial EPA in the form of ethyl ester (EPA-EE) on PD mice induced by 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6 -tetrahydropyridine (MPTP). Results showed that dietary EPA-PL instead of EPA-EE notably improved MPTP-induced behavioral deficiency. Further research showed that EPA-PL suppressed MPTP-induced oxidative stress and apoptosis, thereby alleviating the loss of dopaminergic neurons via mitochondria – mediated pathway and mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway. These findings firstly confirmed that EPA-PL could improve MPTP-induced symptoms and pathology of PD, providing a reference for the prevention and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.

富含二十碳五烯酸（EPA）的磷脂（EPA-PL）在海产品中广泛分布。据报道，EPA和二十二碳六烯酸（DHA）的混合物对帕金森氏病（PD）的保护作用，但是，难以证实单独的EPA对PD的改善。在本研究中，从海参（Cucumaria frondosa）中提取了EPA-PL，以比较EPA-PL和商业EPA乙酯（EPA-EE）形式对1-甲基-4诱导的PD小鼠的影响-苯基-1,2,3,6-四氢吡啶（MPTP）。结果表明，饮食中的EPA-PL代替EPA-EE可以显着改善MPTP引起的行为缺陷。进一步的研究表明，EPA-PL抑制了MPTP诱导的氧化应激和细胞凋亡，从而减轻了多巴胺能神经元通过线粒体–介导的途径和有丝分裂原激活的蛋白激酶途径。这些发现首先证实了EPA-PL可以改善MPTP引起的PD的症状和病理，为神经退行性疾病的预防和治疗提供参考。