FISH-OIL SUPPLEMENTATION REDUCES EXCRETION OF 2,3-DINOR-6-OXO-PGF1-ALPHA AND THE 11-DEHYDROTHROMBOXANE B(2)/2,3-DINOR-6-OXO-PGF1-ALPHA EXCRETION RATIO IN ADULT MEN

Dietary supplementation with a fish oil concentrate (FOC) reduced the endogenous synthesis of prostacyclin (PGI2), as measured by the excretion of its major urinary catabolite, 2,3-dinor-6-oxo-PGF1alpha (PGI2-M). Thirty-four healthy men (24-57 years old) were given controlled diets and supplements that provided 40% of the energy from fat and a minimum of 22 mg/d of alpha-tocopherol for two consecutive experimental periods of 10 weeks each. During the experimental periods, the men received capsules containing 15 g/d of a placebo oil (PO) (period 1) or 15 g/d of the FOC (period 2). In addition to the PO or FOC, capsules contained 1 mg of alpha-tocopherol per g of fat as an antioxidant. The average daily excretion of PGI2-M during the last week of FOC supplementation (period 2) was 22% less (P = 0.0001) than at the end of the first period. These results are at variance with those reported in comparable human studies conducted by other investigators during the middle and late 1980s. A 20% reduction (P = 0.003) in the 11-dehydrothromboxane B2 to 2,3-dinor-6-oxo-PGF1alpha excretion ratio at the end of period 2 in this study demonstrates that a shift of the n-6 to n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid ratio from 12.5 to 2.3 brings about a substantial modulation of the eicosanoid system.