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Consumption of Ahiflower Oil Is Safe and Increases Tissue EPA Levels Compared to Flaxseed Oil – Results of a Phase I Clinical Trial
Author(s) -
Lefort Natalie,
LeBlanc Rémi,
Giroux MarieAndrée,
Surette Marc
Publication year - 2015
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.29.1_supplement.401.7
Subject(s) - polyunsaturated fatty acid , alpha linolenic acid , placebo , fatty acid , medicine , chemistry , urine , zoology , biochemistry , biology , docosahexaenoic acid , alternative medicine , pathology
Ahiflower oil is a dietary oil rich in stearidonic acid (SDA, 18:4 n‐3) extracted from Buglossoides arvensis seeds. We report herein a randomized, double blind, placebo‐controlled Phase I Clinical Trial. This is the first study of this novel dietary oil in humans. Healthy subjects (n=40) supplemented their diets (28 days, 9.8 g/d) with Ahiflower oil (46% α‐linolenic acid (ALA), 20% SDA) or with flaxseed oil (59% ALA). Safety parameters were blood and urine chemistries, blood lipid profiles, hepatic and renal function tests and hematology. No clinically‐significant safety‐related values were measured in either group. Fasting plasma, RBC, polymorphonuclear (PMN) and mononuclear cells (MC) were collected at baseline, 14 and 28 days and fatty acids were measured by gas chromatography. Linear mixed models (repeated measures design) probed for differences in time and time x treatment interaction using gender, age and BMI as covariates. Amongst significant tissue fatty acid changes, EPA (20:5 n‐3) as % of total fatty acids increased from baseline to day 28 in both the Ahiflower (plasma, RBC, PMN and MC, respectively: 0.46 vs 1.34, 0.44 vs 0.74, 0.15 vs 0.24 and 0.20 vs 0.48; all p<0.05) and flaxseed (0.43 vs 0.76, 0.42 vs 0.55, 0.16 vs 0.19, 0.20 vs 0.27; all p<0.05) groups. Notably, EPA accrual in plasma and cells was greater in the Ahiflower group (time x treatment interactions, p<0.05) and the change in plasma EPA at day 28 was 2.5‐times greater in the Ahiflower group. In conclusion, Ahiflower oil is a safe and sustainable seed oil for enrichment of tissues with n‐3 PUFA and is more effective than flaxseed oil. (Funded by: CIHR, Atlantic Innovation Fund, Technology Crops Intl)