Fish Oil Supplementation Inhibits Platelet Aggregation and ATP Release Induced by Platelet-activating Factor and Other Agonists.
The anti-inflammatory effects of fish oil may partly be due to the inhibition of platelet activation induced by platelet-activating factor (PAF) and other agonists. To investigate this hypothesis, the diets of 12 healthy volunteers were supplemented with 12 fish oil capsules or 12 olive oil capsules daily for 4 weeks in a double blind crossover study. Aggregation induced by PAF (18 and 12.5 nM) and collagen (20 μg/ml)tended to be reduced after fish oil but the effect was statistically significant only in subjects receiving fish oil in the 6rst 4 weeks of the study (P 0.05, n=6). The effect of fish oil supplementation on platelet ATP release was more marked with significant inhibition of ATP release induced by PAF (1200 and 36 nM, P 0.01, n = 12), collagen (20 μg/ml, P 0.005, n = 12) and ADP (15,10 and 5 μM, P 0.05, n = 12). Olive oil supplementation appeared to inhibit ATP release induced by collagen (45 and 30 μg/ml, P> 0.025, n = 12), while aggregation and ATP release induced by arachidonic acid and adrenaline were unaffected by the supplements. Plasma fibrinogen was significantly reduced after olive oil (P 0.01, n = 12) while prothrombin time was reduced after fish oil (P 0.001, n = 12) and olive oil (P 0.0025). Reduced platelet aggregation and more importantly, inhibition of platelet release induced by PAF and other agonists may contribute to the anti-inflammatory effects of fish oil supplementation in a number of disease states but olive oil may also independently affect platelet function and influence the effect offish oil.
Department of Medicine, University of Western Australia, Queen Elizabeth II Medical Centre, Perth, Australia.
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Misso
P J
PJ
Thompson