title: Effects of fish-oil supplementation on myocardial fatty acids in humans.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Increased fish or fish-oil consumption is associated with reduced risk of cardiac mortality, especially sudden death. This benefit putatively arises from the incorporation of the long-chain n-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) into cardiomyocyte phospholipids.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The study examined the kinetics of incorporation of n-3 fatty acids into human myocardial membrane phospholipids during supplementation with fish oil and alpha-linolenic acid-rich flaxseed oil.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients with low self-reported fish intake (<1 fish meal/wk and no oil supplements) accepted for elective cardiac surgery involving cardiopulmonary bypass were randomly allocated to 1 of 6 groups: no supplement; fish oil (6 g EPA+DHA/d) for either 7, 14, or 21 d before surgery; flaxseed oil; or olive oil (both 10 mL/d for 21 d before surgery). Right atrial appendage tissue removed during surgery and blood collected at enrollment and before surgery were analyzed for phospholipid fatty acids.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Surgery rescheduling resulted in a range of treatment times from 7 to 118 d. In the fish-oil-treated subjects, accumulation of EPA and DHA in the right atrium was curvilinear with time and reached a maximum at approximately 30 d of treatment and displaced mainly arachidonic acid. Flaxseed oil supplementation yielded a small increase in atrial EPA but not DHA, whereas olive oil did not significantly change atrial n-3 fatty acids.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of the present study show that dietary n-3 fatty acids are rapidly incorporated into human myocardial phospholipids at the expense of arachidonic acid during high-dose fish-oil supplementation.
authors.affiliation: Rheumatology Unit, Royal Adelaide Hospital, Adelaide, Australia. rmetcalf@mail.rah.sa.gov.au
authors.forename: Robert G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Metcalf
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: James
authors.forename: Robert A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Gibson
authors.forename: James Rm
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Edwards
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Stubberfield
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Stuklis
authors.forename: Kurt
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Roberts-Thomson
authors.forename: Glenn D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Young
authors.forename: Leslie G
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Cleland
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002315:Cardiopulmonary Bypass; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D015118:Eicosapentaenoic Acid / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3 / Q000378:metabolism / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D005260:Female; D005395:Fish Oils / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D008043:Linseed Oil / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000737:chemistry; D008297:Male; D008563:Membrane Lipids / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D008875:Middle Aged; D009206:Myocardium / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D000069463:Olive Oil; D010743:Phospholipids / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D010938:Plant Oils / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000737:chemistry; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3; D005395:Fish Oils; D008563:Membrane Lipids; D000069463:Olive Oil; D010743:Phospholipids; D010938:Plant Oils; D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids; D008043:Linseed Oil; D015118:Eicosapentaenoic Acid