the infl ammatory process ( 1, 2 ), acting on a number of G-coupled protein receptors, including the leukotriene B4 (LTB 4 ) receptor to affect resolution of infl ammation.Metabolism of EPA by acetylated cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 or cytochrome P450 monooxygenase results in the formation of 18-hydroxyeicosapentaenoic acid (18-HEPE) that can be converted by 5-lipoxygenase (LOX) to 5-hydroperoxy-18-hydroxyeicosapentaenoic acid (5-Hp-18-HEPE). The latter can undergo epoxidation and enzyme hydrolysis to yield resolvin E1 (RvE1), or reduction to yield resolvin E2 (RvE2). A third E-series resolvin, resolvin E3 (RvE3), is generated from EPA by the 12/15 LOX pathway ( 3 ). Studies using chiral chromatography indicate that acetylation of COX-2 by aspirin generates both 18S-HEPE and 18R-HEPE and their respective downstream E-series resolvins 18S-RvE1 and 18R-RvE1 ( 4 ).Metabolism of DHA by either acetylated COX-2 or 15-LOX gives rise to 17-hydroperoxydocosahexaenoic acid (17-HpDHA) that is converted to 17-hydroxydocosahexaenoic acid (17-HDHA). 15-LOX gives rise to mainly 17S-HpDHA whereas acetylated COX-2 yields 17R-HpDHA ( 5 ). The action of 5-LOX on 17-HDHA generates the Dseries resolvins RvD1-RvD6 ( 1 ). In the absence of 5-LOX, protectin D1 (PD1) is formed from 17-HpDHA. In macrophages, 12/15-LOX can act on DHA to form 14-hydroperoxydocosahexaenoic acid (14-HpDHA) that can be further metabolized to 14-hydroxydocosahexaenoic acid (14-HDHA) and the maresins ( 6 ).Most of the research on the effects of SPMs has been in animal models. The resolvins and protectins have been Abstract Resolution of infl ammation is an active process involving specialized proresolving mediators (SPM) formed from the n-3 fatty acids. This study examined the effect of n-3 fatty acid supplementation and aspirin on plasma SPMs in healthy humans. Healthy volunteers (n = 21) were supplemented with n-3 fatty acids (2.4g/day) for 7 days with random assignment to take aspirin (300 mg/day) or placebo from day 5 to day 7. Blood was collected at baseline (day 0 There is increasing interest in the role of the specialized proresolving mediators (SPMs) that actively stimulate resolution of infl ammation ( 1 ). In particular, recent attention has focused on those SPM derived from the long-chain n-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA. The SPMs formed from EPA are known as E-series resolvins, while those formed from DHA include protectins, D-series resolvins, and maresins ( 1 ). Studies have shown that SPMs increase with time during A.B., T.A.M.,)