Beneficial effect of salmon roe phosphatidylcholine in chronic liver disease.
Phosphatidylcholine (PC), especially dilinoleoyl-PC, has been reported to be effective in preventing hepatic fibrosis in chronically alcohol-fed baboons. Continuous hepatic inflammation predisposes the structure of the liver to fibrosis. Since n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) have been shown to exhibit an anti-inflammatory effect, we tested the hypothesis that n-3 PUFA PC as a dietary supplement has a beneficial effect on chronic liver disease susceptible to fibrosis. Salmon roe phospholipids, 90% of which are PC, were extracted and encapsulated. Almost a third of the PC fatty acids were docosahexaenoic acid (22:6 n3) and 10% were eicosapentanoic acid (20:5 n3). About 1600 mg/day of the phospholipids was administered for six months to six chronic liver disease patients, four with hepatitis B infection (three with cirrhosis, one with chronic hepatitis), one with hepatitis C virus cirrhosis and one with alcoholic cirrhosis. There was no change in the results of blood chemistry studies related to liver function, except in globulin, which decreased from 3.80 g/dl to 3.67 g/dl (p < 0.05). Among the lipid parameters, HDL-cholesterol, apolipoprotein A-I and apolipoprotein E increased significantly. Although this was a small trial, n-3 PUFA PC may be beneficial in the treatment of chronic liver diseases.
Hayashi
H
H
Department of Internal Medicine, Yokohama Red Cross Hospital, Japan.
Tanaka
Y
Y
Hibino
H
H
Umeda
Y
Y
Kawamitsu
H
H
Fujimoto
H
H
Amakawa
T
T
D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D005395:Fish Oils / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006521:Hepatitis, Chronic / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008055:Lipids / Q000097:blood; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008111:Liver Function Tests; D008297:Male; D010713:Phosphatidylcholines / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012474:Salmon
D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated; D005395:Fish Oils; D008055:Lipids; D010713:Phosphatidylcholines