Fatty acid esters of hydroxy fatty acids: A potential treatment for obesity-related diseases

Obesity, a burgeoning worldwide health system challenge, is associated with multiple chronic diseases, including diabetes and chronic inflammation. Fatty acid esters of hydroxy fatty acids (FAHFAs) are newly identified lipids with mitigating and anti-inflammatory effects in diabetes. Increasing work has shown that FAHFAs exert antioxidant activity and enhance autophagy in neuronal cells and cardiomyocytes. We systematically summarized the biological activities of FAHFAs, including their regulatory effects on diabetes and inflammation, antioxidant activity, and autophagy augmentation. Notably, the structure-activity relationships and potential biosynthesis of FAHFAs are thoroughly discussed. FAHFAs also showed potential roles as diagnostic biomarkers. FAHFAs are a class of resources with promising applications in the biomedical field that require in-depth research and hotspot development, as their structure has not been fully resolved and their biological activity has not been fully revealed.