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Enhanced incorporation of n−3 fatty acids from fish compared with fish oils

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Lipids

Abstract

This work was undertaken to study the impact of the source of n−3 FA on their incorporation in serum, on blood lipid composition, and on cellular activation. A clinical trial comprising 71 volunteers, divided into five groups, was performed. Three groups were given 400 g smoked salmon (n=14), cooked salmon (n=15), or cooked cod (n=13) per week for 8 wk. A fourth group was given 15 mL/d of cod liver oil (CLO) (n=15), and a fifth group served as control (n=14) without supplementation. The serum content of EPA and DHA before and after intervention revealed a higher rise in EPA and DHA in the cooked salmon group (129% rise in EPA and 45% rise in DHA) as compared with CLO (106 and 25%, respectively) despite an intake of EPA and DHA in the CLO group of 3.0 g/d compared with 1.2 g/d in the cooked salmon group. No significant changes were observed in blood lipids, fibrinogen, fibrinolysis, or lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced tissue factor (TF) activity, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα), interleukin-8 (IL-8), leukotriene B4 (LTB4), and thromboxane B2 (TxB2) in whole blood. EPA and DHA were negatively correlated with LPS-induced TNFα, IL-8, LTB4, TxB2, and TF in whole blood. In conclusion, fish consumption is more effective in increasing serum EPA and DHA than supplementing the diet with fish oil. Since the n−3 FA are predominantly in TAG in fish as well as CLO, it is suggested that the larger uptake from fish than CLO is due to differences in physiochemical structure of the lipids.

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Abbreviations

apoA:

apolipoprotein A-1

apoB:

apolipoprotein B

apoE:

apolipoprotein E

CLO:

cod liver oil

CVD:

cardiovascular disease

EIA:

enzyme immunoassay

HRP:

horseradish peroxidase

IL-8:

interleukin-8

LPS:

lipopolysaccharide

LTB4:

leukotriene B4

MPV:

mean platelet volume

RBC:

red blood cells

TF:

tissue factor

TNFα:

tumor necrosis factor α

TxB2:

thromboxane B2

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Norwegian College of Fishery Science, Department of Marine Biotechnology, University of Tromsø, 9037, Tromsø, Norway

    Edel O. Elvevoll

  2. Norwegian, College of Fishery Science, Norwegian Institute of Fisheries and Aquaculture Research Ltd., Tromsø, Norway

    Harald Barstad

  3. Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Medical Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tromsø, Norway

    Einar S. Breimo, Karl-Erik Eilertsen, Trine Lund, Jan Ole Olsen & Bjarne Østerud

  4. Department of Clinical Chemistry, University Hospital of Northern Norway, University of Tromsø, Norway

    Jan Brox

Authors
  1. Edel O. Elvevoll
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  2. Harald Barstad
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  3. Einar S. Breimo
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  8. Bjarne Østerud
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Correspondence to Edel O. Elvevoll.

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Elvevoll, E.O., Barstad, H., Breimo, E.S. et al. Enhanced incorporation of n−3 fatty acids from fish compared with fish oils. Lipids 41, 1109–1114 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11745-006-5060-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11745-006-5060-3

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