Fish Oil Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Fish Oil, including details on omega-3, dosage, health benefits, diet.

Enhancing the understanding of earthworm feeding behaviour via the use of fatty acid delta(13)C values determined by gas chromatography-combustion-isotope ratio mass spectrometry.

Dungait JA, Briones MJ, Bol R, Evershed RP

Organic Geochemistry Unit, Bristol Biogeochemistry Research Centre, University of Bristol, School of Chemistry, Cantocks Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, UK.

Litter-dwelling (epigeic) Lumbricus rubellus and soil-dwelling (endogeic) Allolobophora chlorotica earthworms were observed aggregating under C(3) (delta(13)C = -31.3 per thousand; delta(15)N = 10.7 per thousand) and C(4) (delta(13)C = -12.6 per thousand; delta(15)N = 7.5 per thousand) synthetic dung pats applied to a temperate grassland (delta(13)C = -30.3 per thousand; delta(15)N = 5.7 per thousand) in an experiment carried out for 372 days. Bulk delta(13)C values of earthworms collected from beneath either C(3) or C(4) dung after 28, 56, 112 and 372 days demonstrated that (i) L. rubellus beneath C(4) dung were significantly (13)C-enriched after 56 days (delta(13)C = -23.8 per thousand) and 112 days (delta(13)C = -22.4 per thousand) compared with those from C(3) dung treatments (56 days, delta(13)C = -26.5 per thousand; 112 days, delta(13)C = -27.0 per thousand), and (ii) A. chlorotica were 2.1 per thousand (13)C-enriched (delta(13)C = -24.2 per thousand) relative to those from C(3) dung (delta(13)C = -26.3 per thousand) treatments after 372 days. Bulk delta(15)N values did not suggest significant uptake of dung N by either species beneath C(3) or C(4) dung, but showed that the endogeic species (total mean delta(15)N = 3.3 per thousand) had higher delta(15)N values than the epigeic species (total mean delta(15)N = 5.4 per thousand). Although the two species exhibited similar fatty acid profiles, individual fatty acid delta(13)C values revealed extensive routing of dietary C into body tissue of L. rubellus, but minor incorporation into A. chlorotica. In particular, the direct incorporation of microbial biomarker fatty acids (iC(17:0), aC(17:0)) from (13)C-labelled dung in situ, the routing of dung C into de novo synthesised compounds (${ m C}_{20:4_omega 6}$, ${ m C}_{20:5_omega 3}$), and the assimilation of essential fatty acids (${ m C}_{18:1_omega 9}$, ${ m C}_{18:1_omega 7}$, ${ m C}_{18:2_omega 6}$, ${ m C}_{18:3_omega 3}$) derived from dung, were determined. Copyright (c) 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Published 30 April 2008 in Rapid Commun Mass Spectrom, 22(11): 1643-1652.
Full-text of this article is available online (may require subscription).

Articles on Fish Oil published 29 April 2008:

Advanced enteral therapy in acute pancreatitis: is there a room for immunonutrition? A meta-analysis.   Int J Surg, 6(2): 119-24.

BACKGROUND: It is believed that certain nutrients such as glutamine, arginine and omega-3 fatty acids may play a significant role in metabolic, inflammatory, and immune processes in acute pancreatitis. The present systematic review aimed to define whether the addition of these substances to enteral nutrition provides any clinical benefit over standard enteral formulas in patients with acute pancreatitis. METHODS: A computerized search on electronic databases (Cochrane Central Register of ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

{omega}-3 Fatty Acids-Supplemented Parenteral Nutrition Decreases Hyperinflammatory Response and Attenuates Systemic Disease Sequelae in Severe Acute Pancreatitis: A Randomized and Controlled Study.   JPEN J Parenter Enteral Nutr, 32(3): 236-41.

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to investigate whether altering the fatty acid (FA) profile by omega-3 FA supplementation affects inflammatory response and systemic disease sequelae in severe acute pancreatitis. METHODS: Forty severe acute pancreatitis patients were enrolled and randomly assigned to receive parenteral nutrition (PN) for 5 days in a double-blind manner. Patients received PN with identical amounts of amino acids (1.25 g/kg/d), glucose (3 g/kg/d), and fat (1 g/kg/d) ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Fish oil prevents essential fatty acid deficiency and enhances growth: clinical and biochemical implications.   Metabolism, 57(5): 698-707.

Fish oil, a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids, has never been used as the sole source of lipid in clinical practice for fear of development of essential fatty acid deficiency, as it lacks the believed requisite levels of linoleic acid, an omega-6 fatty acid. The objectives of this study were to establish biochemical standards for fish oil as the sole fat and to test the hypothesis that fish oil contains adequate amounts of omega-6 fatty acids to prevent essential fatty acid deficiency. Forty ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Seasonal mercury exposure and oxidant-antioxidant status of James Bay sport fishermen.   Metabolism, 57(5): 630-636.

The effects of a moderate seasonal exposure to methylmercury on plasma low-density lipoprotein (LDL) oxidation and cardiovascular risk indices are not known. The objective of the study was to assess the effects of a seasonal exposure to mercury at similar dose reported to increase cardiovascular risk through fish consumption. Effects on lipoprotein cholesterol and fatty acid profiles, LDL oxidation, and blood oxidant-antioxidant balance were to be assessed in sport fishermen presenting normal ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Fish Oil published 28 April 2008:

The Benefit of Docosahexanoic Acid on the Migration of Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells Is Partially Dependent on Notch Regulation of MMP-2/-9.   Am J Pathol, 172(5): 1430-40.

The Notch pathway is involved in the regulation of the migratory/proliferative phenotype acquired by vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) in the pro-inflammatory context of vascular diseases. Here, we investigated whether docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), a polyunsaturated, omega-3 fatty acid, could reduce fibrinolytic/matrix-metalloproteinase (MMP) activity and whether this reduction occurs through the modulation of Notch signaling. Rat VSMCs were transdifferentiated with interleukin-1beta and then ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Fish Oil published 24 April 2008:

Effect of fatty acids on bone marrow lesions and knee cartilage in healthy, middle-aged subjects without clinical knee osteoarthritis.   Osteoarthritis Cartilage, 16(5): 579-83.

OBJECTIVE: There is evidence that omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids alleviate the progression of osteoarthritis (OA). However, little work has been done to investigate the effect of fatty acids on bone marrow lesions and knee cartilage in healthy subjects. We examined this in a cohort of healthy middle-aged subjects without clinical knee OA. METHODS: Two hundred and ninety-three healthy adults without knee pain or injury were recruited from an existing community-based cohort. Intakes of fatty ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Dietary Nutrients and Insulin Resistance in Urban Asian Indian Adolescents and Young Adults.   Ann Nutr Metab, 52(2): 145-151.

Background: Asian Indians have a high prevalence of insulin resistance that may underlie their higher tendency to develop type 2 diabetes mellitus and early-onset atherosclerosis. Objective: To investigate the relationship between dietary nutrients and insulin resistance in Asian Indian adolescents and young adults. Design: Dietary nutrient intake values (24-hour dietary recall and monthly consumption data) and fasting serum insulin levels were studied in 352 (311 males and 41 females) healthy ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Dietary supplementation with a source of omega-3 fatty acids increases sperm number and the duration of ejaculation in boars.   Theriogenology.

Development of nutritional strategies to increase the production of fertile sperm would further enhance the distribution of superior genetic material by AI. The objective was to determine the effects of a dietary source of omega-3 fatty acids in boars on semen characteristics and sexual behavior. Boars were fed daily 2.2kg of a diet top-dressed with 0.3kg of corn (controls; n=12) or 0.3kg of a supplement containing 31% omega-3 fatty acids (n=12) for 16 weeks. Semen was collected weekly and for ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

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