Mediterranean diet component oleic acid increases protective lipid mediators and improves trabecular bone in a Porphyromonas gingivalis inoculation model

Aim Therapeutic modulation of bacterial‐induced inflammatory host response is being investigated in gingival inflammation and periodontal disease pathology. Therefore, dietary intake of the monounsaturated fatty acid (FA) oleic acid (OA (C18:1)), which is the main component of Mediterranean‐style diets, and saturated FA palmitic acid (PA (C16:0)), which is a component of Western‐style diets, was investigated for their modifying potential in an oral inoculation model of Porphyromonas gingivalis . Materials and Methods Normal‐weight C57BL/6‐mice received OA‐ or PA‐enriched diets (PA‐ED, OA‐ED, PA/OA‐ED) or normal standard diet for 16 weeks and were inoculated with P . gingivalis /placebo ( n = 12/group). Gingival inflammation, alveolar bone structure, circulating lipid mediators, and in vitro cellular response were determined. Results FA treatment of P . gingivalis ‐lipopolysaccharide‐incubated gingival fibroblasts (GFbs) modified inflammatory activation, which only PA exacerbated with concomitant TNF‐α stimulation. Mice exhibited no signs of acute inflammation in gingiva or serum and no inoculation‐ or nutrition‐associated changes of the crestal alveolar bone. However, following P . gingivalis inoculation, OA‐ED improved oral trabecular bone micro‐architecture and enhanced circulating pro‐resolving mediators resolvin D4 (RvD4) and 4‐hydroxydocosahexaenoic acid (4‐HDHA), whereas PA‐ED did not. In vitro experiments demonstrated significantly improved differentiation in RvD4‐ and 4‐HDHA‐treated primary osteoblast cultures and reduced the expression of osteoclastogenic factors in GF. Further, P . gingivalis infection of OA‐ED animals led to a serum composition that suppressed osteoclastic differentiation in vitro. Conclusions Our results underline the preventive impact of Mediterranean‐style OA‐EDs by indicating their pro‐resolving nature beyond anti‐inflammatory properties.