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Plasma Omega‐3 Fatty Acid Response to a Fish Oil Supplement in the Healthy Elderly
Author(s) -
Vandal Milène,
Freemantle Erika,
TremblayMercier Jennifer,
Plourde Mélanie,
Fortier Mélanie,
Bruneau Joannie,
Gag Johannie,
Bégin Michel,
Cunnane Stephen C.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
lipids
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.601
H-Index - 120
eISSN - 1558-9307
pISSN - 0024-4201
DOI - 10.1007/s11745-008-3232-z
Subject(s) - lipidology , clinical chemistry , fish oil , fish <actinopterygii> , omega , omega 3 fatty acid , fatty acid , clinical nutrition , food science , docosahexaenoic acid , chemistry , medicine , biology , biochemistry , polyunsaturated fatty acid , fishery , philosophy , linguistics
Little information is available concerning whether incorporation of dietary omega‐3 fatty acids into plasma lipids changes during healthy aging. Elderly (74 ± 4 years old) and young (24 ± 2 years old) adults were given a fish oil supplement for 3 weeks that provided 680 mg/day of docosahexaenoic acid and 320 mg/day of eicosapentaenoic acid, followed by a 2 week wash‐out period. Compliance was monitored by spiking the capsules with carbon‐13 glucose, the excretion of which was measured in breath CO 2 . In response to the supplement, plasma docosahexaenoic acid rose 42% more in the elderly but eicosapentaenoic responded similarly in both groups. Despite raising docosahexaenoic acid intake by five to tenfold, the supplement did not raise plasma free docosahexaenoic acid (% or mg/dL) in either group. We conclude that healthy aging is accompanied by subtle but significant changes in DHA incorporation into plasma lipids.