We recently found that
peridinin, which is uniquely present in dinoflagellates, reduced cell viability by inducing apoptosis in human
colon cancer cells.
Peridinin is also found in edible clams and oysters because the major food sources of those shellfish are phytoplanktons such as dinoflagellates. Little is known, however, about the fate of dietary
peridinin and its
biological activities in mammals. The aim of the present study was to investigate the enzymatic esterification of
xanthophylls, especially
peridinin which is uniquely present in dinoflagellates, using differentiated cultures of Caco-2 human intestinal cells. We found that
peridinin is converted to peridininol and its
fatty acid esters in differentiated Caco-2 cells treated with 5mumol/L
peridinin solubilized with mixed
micelles. The cell homogenate was also able to deacetylate
peridinin and to esterify peridininol. Other
xanthophylls, such as
fucoxanthin,
astaxanthin and
zeaxanthin, were also esterified, but at relatively lower rates than
peridinin. In this study, we found the enzymatic esterification of
xanthophylls in mammalian intestinal cells for the first time. Our results suggest that the esterification of
xanthophylls in intestinal cells is dependent on their polarity.