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Is the omega‐3 index a valid marker of intestinal membrane phospholipid EPA+DHA content? (822.2)
Author(s) -
Gurzell Eric,
Wiesinger Jason,
Harris William,
Fenton Jenifer
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.28.1_supplement.822.2
Subject(s) - fish oil , eicosapentaenoic acid , docosahexaenoic acid , phospholipid , chemistry , polyunsaturated fatty acid , biomarker , food science , medicine , fish <actinopterygii> , zoology , biochemistry , fatty acid , biology , membrane , fishery
Despite numerous studies investigating n‐3 fatty acids (FA) and inflammatory bowel diseases, the extent to which dietary n‐3 FAs incorporate in gastrointestinal (GI) tissues is unknown. In this study, mice were fed three diets with increasing percent of energy (%en) derived from EPA+DHA, reflecting recommended intakes of fish/fish oil. We analyzed the FA composition of phospholipids extracted from RBCs, plasma, and GI tissues. We observed that the 0.001%en EPA+DHA diet was sufficient to significantly increase the omega‐3 index (RBC EPA+DHA) after 5 week feeding. The baseline EPA levels were 0.2‐0.6% across all tissues increasing to 1.6‐4.3% in the highest EPA+DHA diet; these changes resulted in absolute increases of 1.4‐3.9% EPA across tissues. The baseline DHA levels were 2.2‐5.9% across all tissues increasing to 5.8‐10.5% in the highest EPA+DHA diet; these changes resulted in absolute increases of 3.2‐5.7% DHA across tissues. We identified strong (r > 0.91) and significant (p < 0.001) linear correlations between the omega‐3 index and plasma/GI tissue EPA+DHA content, suggesting that the omega‐3 index reflects the relative amounts of EPA+DHA in GI tissues. These data demonstrate that the GI tissues are highly responsive to dietary LCPUFA supplementation and that the omega‐3 index can serve as a valid biomarker for assessing dietary EPA+DHA incorporation in GI tissues. Grant Funding Source : Supported by NIH R03CA162427 (to JIF)