2. Academic Validation
  3. Food-grade fish oil supplementation promotes membrane and redox stability during cryopreservation of aquatic biomaterials

Food-grade fish oil supplementation promotes membrane and redox stability during cryopreservation of aquatic biomaterials

  • Food Chem. 2026 May 1:510:148652. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2026.148652.
Jingting Yao 1,  Yihan Liu 1,  Hongyan Xu 2,  Shengqi Su 3
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Integrative Science Center of Germplasm Creation in Western China Integrative Science Center of Germplasm Creation in Western China (CHONGQING) Science City & College of Fisheries, Southwest University, Key Laboratory of Freshwater Fish Reproduction and Development; Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Aquatic Sciences of Chongqing, 402460, Chongqing.
  • 2 Integrative Science Center of Germplasm Creation in Western China Integrative Science Center of Germplasm Creation in Western China (CHONGQING) Science City & College of Fisheries, Southwest University, Key Laboratory of Freshwater Fish Reproduction and Development; Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Aquatic Sciences of Chongqing, 402460, Chongqing. Electronic address: [email protected].
  • 3 Integrative Science Center of Germplasm Creation in Western China Integrative Science Center of Germplasm Creation in Western China (CHONGQING) Science City & College of Fisheries, Southwest University, Key Laboratory of Freshwater Fish Reproduction and Development; Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Aquatic Sciences of Chongqing, 402460, Chongqing. Electronic address: [email protected].
PMID: 41785761 DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2026.148652
Abstract

The development of food-compatible strategies represents a critical advancement for the cryopreservation of aquatic biomaterials. This study evaluated the efficacy of food-grade fish oil (FO) as a synergistic adjunct within a standard DMSO-based cryomedium. Supplementation with 0.1% FO significantly increased the post-thaw viability of fish ovarian cells from 63.52% to 78.25% compared to the control (n = 6 biological replicates). Ultrastructural and functional analyses confirmed that FO treatment effectively maintained mitochondrial integrity (n = 3) and membrane potential (n = 6). Furthermore, FO supplementation mitigated oxidative stress by lowering MDA levels and modulating the expression of stress-response genes, specifically downregulating HSP70 and lamp3 (n = 6). Crucially, functional recovery was demonstrated by a shortened population doubling time (206.71 h, n = 6) and a 36.67% engraftment efficiency in a xenotransplantation model (n = 3). These findings establish FO as a potent, food-compatible supplement for optimizing conventional cryopreservation protocols in biotechnology.

Keywords

Aquatic germplasm; Cryopreservation; Fish oil; Ovarian cells; Oxidative stress; Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs).

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