Effect of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid intake on phospholipid fatty acid composition in plasma and erythrocytes

Abstract

To characterize the time course of plasma and red blood cell (RBC) changes after n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) supplementation, 20 healthy male volunteers were randomly assigned to receive either four 1-g capsules of n-3 PUFA ethyl esters or four 1-g capsules of olive oil (as placebo) for a period of 4 mo, followed by a 3-mo washout period. Fatty acids of plasma and RBC phospholipid fractions were analyzed at 0, 2, and 4 mo of treatment and at 1, 2, and 3 mo of washout. During n-3 PUFA supplementation, accumulations of eicosapentaenoic (EPA), docosapentaenoic (DPA), and docosahexaenoic (DHA) acids were marked after 2 mo with differences among different fractions of plasma and RBCs in further accumulation up to 4 mo. During the first and second months of the washout, slight differences were observed in changes of various fatty acids among different phospholipid fractions, but after 3 mo of washout, only minor alterations were still detectable with respect to pretreatment values. These data confirm the complex relations among different fatty acid pools after n-3 PUFA supplementation.

Antihypertensive effects of a dietary unsaturated FA mixture in spontaneously hypertensive rats

“…The plasma PUFA composition reflects the treatment with GLA80/EPA30, in agreement with previous studies showing increased n-3 PUFA levels with marine oil dietary supplementation (15). The decrease of 20:4n-6 and of its elongation/desaturation products (22:4n-6 and 22:5n-6) indicates that the n-3 FA increased at the expense of n-6 PUFA.…”

“…Moreover, it is well known that prolonged supplementation with only n-3 PUFA is accompanied by changes in FA composition of various organs and tissues (13)(14)(15). These FA, incorporated at the expense of n-6 FA (16), can induce n-6 PUFA reduction in same-cell types (17).…”

Basal omega-3 fatty acid status affects fatty acid and oxylipin responses to high-dose n3-HUFA in healthy volunteers

“…in MUFA and PUFA pools were not reported ( 38 ). These shifts in cellular HUFA composition may alter the generation of bioactive lipids from activated platelets ( 37 ) and RBCs ( 41 ).…”

“…Increasing n3-HUFA intake leads to their enrichment in platelet, RBC, and plasma phospholipid pools ( 26,(37)(38)(39), resulting in unique compositional shifts in each compartment ( Fig. 1 ).…”

Serum phospholipid fatty acid composition and habitual intake of marine foods registered by a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire

“…It is therefore plausible that the content of n-3 fatty acids in different components of the blood is related to the consumption of ®sh and ®sh products (Ogunleiye et al, 1990;Silverman et al, 1990;Parkinson et al, 1994). The fatty acid composition of serum phospholipids is assumed to be relatively resistant to short term changes in dietary intake (Riboli et al, 1987;Prisco et al, 1996), and it exhibits a relatively high degree of tracking, with correlation coef®cients for samples drawn approximately four years ago in the order of 0.5±0.6 . Signi®cant associations between habitual ®sh consumption (meals per week) and content of n-3 fatty acids in plasma/serum phospholipids have been found even in populations where most of the ®sh consumed is lean and has a low content of n-3 fatty acids (Bùnaa et al, 1992;Vatten et al, 1993).…”