N-3 FATTY-ACIDS AND ACUTE-PHASE PROTEINS

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of n-3 fatty acids on acute-phase proteins and response. Healthy male volunteers were submitted to standard bicycle ergometry once without supplementation and a second time after 3-weeks supplementation with highly purified n-3 fatty acids (1.75 g eicosapentaenoic acid and 1.05 g docosahexaenoic acid per day). Acute-phase proteins (immunoglobulin M, complement C4, haptoglobin, C-reactive protein, alpha-2-macroglobulin, coeruloplasmin, fibrinogen, alpha-1-glycoprotein) were measured before, immediately after, 24 and 72 h after exercise. There were significantly lower values of immunoglobulin M (pre-exercise and at 72 h) and alpha-2-macroglobulin (pre-exercise) when cross-sectionally comparing the baseline data with and without n-3 supplementation. Longitudinal comparisons show that the ergometric test induced a discrete acute-phase reaction, which is evident with and without n-3 fatty acids. Yet the kinetics of the response seem to be altered by n-3 supplementation. The relative increase of most acute-phase proteins is numerically larger and the rise persists longer, which is particularly evident for fibrinogen and alpha-1-glycoprotein. The findings suggest that n-3 fatty acids lower acute-phase proteins at baseline and alter the pattern of change following acute exercise.