title: Dose-response effects of fish-oil supplementation in healthy volunteers.
abstract: We performed a randomized, controlled study on the dose-response effects of daily supplementation of 1.5, 3, and 6 g of the marine fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20:5n-3) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6n-3) as their ethyl esters for 12 wk in 45 healthy normotriglyceridemic male volunteers. Significant dose-related increases of the n-3 fatty acids 20:5, 22:5, and 22:6 in plasma phospholipids (p less than 0.0001) were found, corresponding roughly to decreases of the n-6 fatty acids 18:2 and 20:4 (p less than 0.001). Serum triglycerides and HDL3-cholesterol concentrations showed a dose-dependent reduction (p less than 0.05) and HDL2 cholesterol increased (p less than 0.05). Results for 3 and 6 g n-3 fatty acids were similar. No dose-dependent effects were observed in the VLDL-, LDL-, and total HDL-cholesterol subfractions; blood pressure; bleeding time; erythrocyte deformability; or capacity of polymorphonuclear leukocytes to kill Staphylococcus aureus. This study indicates that 3 g n-3 ethyl ester fatty acids appears to be the appropriate supplementation dose in humans, at least regarding lipid-profile changes and the ability to incorporate such fatty acids in the plasma phospholipids.
authors: Department of Internal Medicine, Free University Hospital, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors: M C
authors: MC
authors: Blonk
authors: H J
authors: HJ
authors: Bilo
authors: J J
authors: JJ
authors: Nauta
authors: C
authors: C
authors: Popp-Snijders
authors: C
authors: C
authors: Mulder
authors: A J
authors: AJ
authors: Donker
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001777:Blood Coagulation / Q000187:drug effects; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects; D001809:Blood Viscosity / Q000187:drug effects; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood; D004041:Dietary Fats / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D015118:Eicosapentaenoic Acid / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000187:drug effects; D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3 / Q000494:pharmacology; D005395:Fish Oils / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D007962:Leukocytes / Q000187:drug effects; D008074:Lipoproteins / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010743:Phospholipids / Q000097:blood; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D004041:Dietary Fats; D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3; D005395:Fish Oils; D008074:Lipoproteins; D010743:Phospholipids; D014280:Triglycerides; D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids; D015118:Eicosapentaenoic Acid