New research led by Professor Robin SB Williams and Dr Erwann Pain from the Department of Biological Sciences at Royal Holloway has identified that decanoic acid mimics changes in the brain during a strict ketogenic diet, to increase the expression of many genes involved in energy metabolism.
The ketogenic diet is widely used to treat a range of diseases including epilepsy. Surprisingly, how the ketogenic diet works in the treatment of epilepsy remains unclear. Earlier studies of the ketogenic diet using strict ketogenic conditions identified increased expression of specific genes in the brain responsible for energy production. This high fat diet is often difficult to maintain due to the need for the heavily reduced consumption of carbohydrates.
One variation of the ketogenic diet is called the medium chain triglyceride (MCT) ketogenic diet. This diet involves the consumption of decanoic acid, a naturally occurring medium chain fat found in coconut. Recently, a new MCT dietary management K.Vita™ (Vitaflo International Ltd) has been introduced, with enhanced levels of decanoic acid and it is used with much less dietary restriction than that found in most ketogenic diets. This new diet has been shown to effectively manage patients with drug resistant epilepsy.
In this new study, Professor Williams and Dr Pain identified that decanoic acid treatment triggered the increasing expression of genes controlling energy metabolism similar to those identified in the brain during a restrictive ketogenic diet. The study also identified an increase the size and number of mitochondria, which are the powerhouse for cell energy production, and the increased use of fat as an energy source. The research employed an innovative model system that was initially used to identify a role for decanoic acid in directly blocking seizure activity in epilepsy. This new data suggests that stringent dietary restrictions may not be necessary for beneficial effects of the diet.
Professor Williams said: “We showed that decanoic acid treatment increases expression of genes involved in producing ATP which is the key energy source in cells, and similar changes in gene expression have been reported in the hippocampus of animals on the ketogenic diet. This suggest that the beneficial effect of the ketogenic diet can be triggered by decanoic acid”.
Dr Pain added: “Importantly, the research was able to demonstrate the change in energy metabolism by decanoic acid under high glucose conditions, mimicking the conditions of neurons in the human brain in people on a standard carbohydrate diet. This suggests that the beneficial effect of decanoic acid on improving energy metabolism is not reliant upon carbohydrate restriction”.
Professor Williams continued: “This study therefore supports a role for the beneficial effect of dietary decanoic acid, and also highlights that ketogenic diets may improve health through increasing expression of genes controlling energy production”.
