Recently, the research and development team of Baofeng published a research paper entitled “Cognitive Improvement Effect of Nervonic Acid and Essential Fatty Acids on Rats Ingesting Acer truncatum Bunge Seed Oil Revealed by Lipidomics Approach” in Food & Function, a top journal in the field of food science and technology.This is the first study in the world to reveal the mechanism of the effect of nervonic acid and essential fatty acids on cognitive function after ingestion of Acer truncatum Bunge seed oil by lipidomics approach, which provides a scientific basis for the improvement of cognitive function by nervonic acid

Acer truncatum Bunge seed oil (ASO) is rich in ω-9 (53.93%) and ω-6 (30.7%) fatty acids (FAs) and characterized by 3–7% nervonic acid (NA, C24:1ω-9). Evidence suggests that ω-9 FAs such as NA participate in processes of cognitive improvement; however, their mechanism remains ambiguous. In this study, we investigated the effect of ASO on rat memory and the change in lipid profiling and underlying metabolism. After ASO was administrated to rats for one, three and seven days, their capacity for learning and memory significantly increased via the MWM test. Lipid profiling showed alterations in a wide range of metabolic features after ASO was administrated to the rats, in which sphingolipids (SP) in the serum and glyceropho- spholipids (GP) in the brain were regulated significantly. The changes in the fatty acids in the serum and brain showed the synergetic effects of NA, EA, OA and DHA, where NA, EA and OA exhibited similar change trends. The enrichment analysis based on KEGG indicated that ASO supplementation evoked the pathways of neurotrophin signaling, glycerophospholipid metabolism and sphingolipid metabolism, which are related to memory and cognition improvement. Among the metabolites with different molecular forms, the biomarkers with C24:1ω-9 chains exhibited a positive correlation with others both in the serum SP and brain GP. These results suggest the synergistic effects of ω-9 FAs and that their conversion into each other may result in enhanced cognition in rats ingesting Acer truncatum Bunge seed oil.

The product of the study, Acer truncatum Bunge seed Nervonic oil, was provided by Baofeng Biotech, which is an exclusive patented product of the company (Product patent certificate: ZL202010816389.2). The research was carried out under the leadership of researcher Chen Xian Yang (corresponding author) from the Key Laboratory of Genetic Metabolism of Baofeng (the laboratory), a subsidiary of Baofeng Biotech, with Song Wang Ting as the first author; Zhang Ke, Xue Teng and Han Jia Rui from the laboratory; as well as Professor Li Jiujun from Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University; researcher Ding Chunguang and assistant researcher Peng Fangda from the National Health and Occupational Safety and Health Research Center; Dr. Feng Lin from Sanming First Hospital, Fujian Province; Dr. Fat Tin Agassi Sze, Taiwan National Pingtung University of Science and Technology; and Dr. Gan Jianwen, Macau University of Science and Technology as first co-authors.

Food & Function as the world's top professional journal in the TOP5 global food science field, is published by the Royal Society of Chemistry, with an SCI impact factor of 5.396 (2021), mainly publishing the best original research papers, reviews, and papers on new theoretical scientific and technical research about food research and health functions, providing the most professional and authoritative platform for the world's leading physicists, chemists, biologists, and nutritionists to publish their contents. The publication of " Cognitive Improvement Effect of Nervonic Acid and Essential Fatty Acids on Rats Ingesting Acer truncatum Bunge Seed Oil Revealed by Lipidomics Approach " in this journal not only provides an academic contribution to Acer Truncatum nervonic acid extract as nutritional supplements for nerves in the fields of bio-science, but also provides a followable path to overcome the world-wide problem of brain and nervous system diseases, and once again expands the theoretical and applied research of nervonic acid in the field of medicine. It is of great clinical significance and social value.