From: Doug Skrecky (oberon@vcn.bc.ca)
Date: Sat Dec 05 1998 - 18:42:37 MST
Authors
McLennan P. Howe P. Abeywardena M. Muggli R. Raederstorff D. Mano M.
Rayner T. Head R.
Institution
CSIRO Division of Human Nutrition, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
Title
The cardiovascular
protective role of docosahexaenoic acid.
Source
European Journal of Pharmacology. 300(1-2):83-9, 1996 Apr 4.
Abstract
Dietary fish oils rich in n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids can modulate a
diverse range of factors contributing to cardiovascular
disease. This study examined the relative
roles of eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5 n-3; EPA) and
docosahexaenoic acid (22:6 n-3; DHA) which are the principal
n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids regarded as candidates for
cardioprotective actions. At low dietary intakes (0.4-1.1%
of energy (%en)), docosahexaenoic acid but not eicosapentaenoic acid
inhibited ischaemia-induced cardiac arrhythmias. At intakes of 3.9-10.0%en,
docosahexaenoic acid was more effective than eicosapentaenoic acid at
retarding hypertension development in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR)
and inhibiting thromboxane-like vasoconstrictor responses in aortas from SHR.
In stroke-prone SHR with established hypertension, docosahexaenoic acid
(3.9-10.0%en) retarded the development of salt-loading
induced proteinuria but eicosapentaenoic acid alone was ineffective.
The results demonstrate that purified n-3 polyunsaturated
fatty acids mimic the cardiovascular
actions of fish oils and imply that docosahexaenoic acid may be
the principal active component conferring
cardiovascular protection.
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