An Improvement of Cardiovascular Risk Factors by Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids

Abstract

An epidemiological survey in the Northwest Greenland reported that the Greenlanders have a lower frequency of acute myocardial infarction and diabetes mellitus. The very low incidence of ischemic heart disease in the Greenlanders was explained by consumption of a diet rich in omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). Possible anti-atherothrombotic effects of omega-3 PUFA include an improvement of lipid metabolism such as a reduction of triglyceride and an increase of high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), and glucose metabolism, anti-platelet activity, anti-inflammatory effects, an improvement of endothelial function and stabilization of atherosclerotic plaque. The present study reviews an improvement of cardiovascular risk factors such as dyslipidemia and diabetes due to consumption of omega-3 PUFA. A sufficient number of studies suggest that omega-3 PUFA supplementation reduces serum triglyceride and increases HDL-cholesterol. The mechanisms for omega-3 PUFA-mediated improvements of lipid metabolism have been partially elucidated. The studies using experimental animals, part of trials in humans, have shown the beneficial effects of omega-3 PUFA on glucose metabolism and insulin sensitivity. The meta-analysis showed that omega-3 PUFA might prevent development of diabetes in part of population. Further studies should be performed to elucidate the association of omega-3 PUFA supplementation with diabetes, in the future.

Effects of Consumption of Various Fatty Acids on Serum HDL-Cholesterol Levels

“…This result indicates that the effect of n-3 PUFA on HDL-C varies by the difference of clinical backgrounds of studied patients. Our recent study reported that DHA induces a greater increase of HDL-C as compared with eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) [28], supporting our previous study.…”

Microalgae with Immunomodulatory Activities

“…Natural products from marine and freshwater microalgae have been widely studied in the last years highlighting their diversified activities, such as antioxidant, antibacterial, antitumor, anti-inflammatory, anti-hypertensive, cardioprotective, and antidiabetic [126,127]. In addition, various studies have used an OSMAC approach in order to increase the production of specific metabolites [5,42,43].…”

Effet des acides gras polyinsaturés à longue chaîne n-3 sur le remodelage membranaire induit par les toxiques chimiques : retentissement sur la mort cellulaire

“…(AGPI LC n-3), présents naturellement dans les aliments d'origine marine comme les poissons gras (tableau 1), peuvent modifier les propriétés physicochimiques des membranes [11][12][13][14] et pourraient donc interférer avec les effets de ces toxiques chimiques. Ces AGPI LC n-3 sont d'ailleurs décrits pour la prévention ou le traitement de nombreuses pathologies [15][16][17] telles que les maladies cardiovasculaires [18][19][20][21], inflammatoires [22,23] et les cancers [24,25].…”