Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-kw2vx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-01-11T02:38:16.995Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Comparison of the effects of linseed oil and different doses of fish oil on mononuclear cell function in healthy human subjects

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 March 2007

Fiona A. Wallace ,
Elizabeth A. Miles  and
Philip C. Calder
Fiona A. Wallace
Affiliation:
Institute of Human Nutrition, School of Medicine, University of Southampton, Bassett Crescent East, Southampton SO16 7PX, UK
Elizabeth A. Miles*
Affiliation:
Institute of Human Nutrition, School of Medicine, University of Southampton, Bassett Crescent East, Southampton SO16 7PX, UK
Philip C. Calder
Affiliation:
Institute of Human Nutrition, School of Medicine, University of Southampton, Bassett Crescent East, Southampton SO16 7PX, UK
*
*Corresponding Author: Dr E. A. Miles, fax +44 23 8059 4383, email [email protected]
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Studies on animal and human subjects have shown that greatly increasing the amount of linseed (also known as flaxseed) oil (rich in the n−3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) α-linolenic acid (ALNA)) or fish oil (FO; rich in the long-chain n−3 PUFA eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)) in the diet can decrease a number of markers of immune function. The immunological effects of more modest doses of n−3 PUFA in human subjects are unclear, dose–response relationships between n−3 PUFA supply and immune function have not been established and whether ALNA has the same effects as its long-chain derivatives is not known. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to determine the effect of enriching the diet with different doses of FO or with a modest dose of ALNA on a range of functional responses of human monocytes and lymphocytes. In a randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blind, parallel study, forty healthy males aged 18–39 years were randomised to receive placebo or 3·5 g ALNA/d or 0·44, 0·94 or 1·9 g (EPA+DHA)/d in capsules for 12 weeks. The EPA:DHA ratio in the FO used was 1·0:2·5. ALNA supplementation increased the proportion of EPA but not DHA in plasma phospholipids. FO supplementation decreased the proportions of linoleic acid and arachidonic acid and increased the proportions of EPA and DHA in plasma phospholipids. The interventions did not alter circulating mononuclear cell subsets or the production of tumour necrosis factor-α, interleukin (IL) 1β, IL-2, IL-4, IL-10 or interferon-γ by stimulated mononuclear cells. There was little effect of the interventions on lymphocyte proliferation. The two higher doses of FO resulted in a significant decrease in IL-6 production by stimulated mononuclear cells. It is concluded that, with the exception of IL-6 production, a modest increase in intake of either ALNA or EPA+DHA does not influence the functional activity of mononuclear cells. The threshold of EPA+DHA intake that results in decreased IL-6 production is between 0·44 and 0·94 g/d.

Keywords

Fish oilLinseed oilα-Linolenic acidn-3 Polyunsaturated fatty acidsImmunityLymphocyteMonocyteCytokine
Type
Research Article
Information
British Journal of Nutrition , Volume 89 , Issue 5 , May 2003 , pp. 679 - 689
Copyright
Copyright © The Nutrition Society 2003

References

Abbas, AK, Lichtman, AH & Pober, JS (1994) Cellular and Molecular Immunology, 2nd ed., Philadelphia, PA: WB Saunders Company.Google Scholar
Begin, ME (1987) Effects of polyunsaturated fatty acids and of their oxidation products on cell survival. Chemistry and Physics of Lipids 45 269–313.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Blok, WL, Deslypere, J-P, Demacker, PNM, van der Ven-Jongekrijg, J, Hectors, MPC, van der Meer, JMW & Katan, MB (1997) Pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines in healthy volunteers fed various doses of fish oil for 1 year. European Journal of Clinical Investigation 27 1003–1008.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
British Nutrition Foundation (1992) Report of the Task Force on Unsaturated Fatty Acids: Nutritional and Physiological Significance. London: Chapman & Hall.Google Scholar
British Nutrition Foundation (1999) Briefing Paper: n−3 Fatty Acids and Health. London: British Nutrition Foundation.Google Scholar
Calder, PC (2001 a) Polyunsaturated fatty acids, inflammation and immunity. Lipids 36 1007–1024.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Calder, PC (2001 b) n−3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, inflammation and immunity: pouring oil on troubled waters or another fishy tale? Nutrition Research 21 309–341.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Calder, PC (2002) Dietary modification of inflammation with lipids. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 61 345–358.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Caughey, GE, Mantzioris, E, Gibson, RA, Cleland, LG & James, MJ (1996) The effect on human tumour factor α and interleukin 1β production of diets enriched in n−3 fatty acids from vegetable oil or fish oil. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 63 116–122.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cooper, AL, Gibbons, L, Horan, MA, Little, RA & Rothwell, NJ (1993) Effect of dietary fish oil supplementation on fever and cytokine production in human volunteers. Clinical Nutrition 112 321–328.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dasgupta, B, Corkill, M, Kirkham, B, Gibson, T & Panayi, G (1992) Serial estimation of interleukin-6 as a measure of systemic disease in rheumatoid arthritis. Journal of Rheumatology 19 22–25.Google ScholarPubMed
de Deckere, EAM, Korver, O, Vershuren, PM & Katan, MB (1998) Health aspects of fish and n−3 polyunsaturated fatty acids from plant and marine origin. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 52 749–753.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Emken, EA, Adlof, RO & Gulley, RM (1994) Dietary linoleic acid influences desaturation and acylation of deuterium-labeled linoleic acid and linolenic acids in young adult males. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta 1213 277–288.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Endres, S, Ghorbani, R, Kelley, VE, Georgilis, K, Lonnemann, G, van der Meer, JMW, Cannon, JG, Rogers, TS, Klempner, MS, Weber, PC, Schaeffer, EJ, Wolff, SM & Dinarello, CA (1989) The effect of dietary supplementation with n−3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on the synthesis of interleukin-1 and tumour necrosis factor by mononuclear cells. New England Journal of Medicine 320 265–271.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Endres, S, Meydani, SN, Ghorbani, R, Schindler, R & Dinarello, CA (1993) Dietary supplementation with n−3 fatty acids suppresses interleukin-2 production and mononuclear cell proliferation. Journal of Leukocyte Biology 54 599–603.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Finnegan, YE, Minihane, AM, Leigh-Firbank, EC, Kew, S, Meijer, GW, Muggli, R, Calder, PC & Williams, CM (2003) Plant and marine derived n−3 polyunsaturated fatty acids have differential effects on fasting and postprandial blood lipids and susceptibility of low density lipoprotein to oxidative modification in moderately hyperlipidemic subjects. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (In the Press).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gallai, V, Sarchielli, P, Trequattrini, A, Franceschini, M, Floidi, A, Firenze, C, Alberti, A, Di Benedetto, D & Stragliotto, E (1993) Cytokine secretion and eicosanoid production in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of MS patients undergoing dietary supplementation with n−3 polyunsaturated fatty acids. Journal of Neuroimmunology 56 143–153.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gibney, MJ & Hunter, B (1993) The effects of short term and long term supplementation with fish oil on the incorporation of n−3 polyunsaturated fatty acids into cells of the immune system in healthy volunteers. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 47 255–259.Google ScholarPubMed
Healy, DA, Wallace, FA, Miles, EA, Calder, PC & Newsholme, P (2000) Effect of low to moderate amounts of dietary fish oil on neutrophil lipid composition and function. Lipids 35 763–768.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Indu, M & Ghafoorunissa, (1992) n−3 Fatty acid in Indian diets – comparison of the effect of precursor (alpha-linolenic acid) vs product (long-chain n−3 polyunsaturated fatty acids). Nutrition Research 12 569–582.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kelley, DS, Branch, LB, Love, JE, Taylor, PC, Rivera, YM & Iacono, JM (1991) Dietary alpha-linolenic acid and immunocompetance in humans. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 53 40–46.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kelley, DS, Taylor, PC, Nelson, GJ & Mackey, BE (1998) Dietary docosahexaenoic acid and immunocompetence in young healthy men. Lipids 33 559–566.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kelley, DS, Taylor, PC, Nelson, GJ, Schmidt, PC, Ferretti, A, Erickson, KL, Yu, R & Chandra, RK (1999) Docosahexaenoic acid ingestion inhibits natural killer cell activity and production of inflammatory mediators in young healthy men. Lipids 34 317–324.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kramer, TR, Schoene, N, Douglass, LW, Judd, JT, Ballard-Barbash, R, Taylor, PR, Bhagavan, HN & Nair, PP (1991) Increased vitamin E intake restores fish oil induced suppressed blastogenesis of mitogen-stimulated lymphocytes. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 54 896–902.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Li, D, Sinclair, AJ, Wilson, A, Nakkote, S, Kelly, F, Abedin, L, Mann, N & Turner, A (1999) Effect of dietary alpha-linolenic acid on thrombotic risk factors in vegetarian men. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 69 872–882.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Licastro, F, Davis, LJ & Morini, MC (1993) Lectins and superantigens – membrane interactions of these compounds with T-lymphocytes affect immune responses. International Journal of Biochemistry 25 845–852.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Madhavi, N, Das, UN, Prabha, PS, Kumar, GS, Koratkar, R & Sagar, PS (1994) Suppression of human T-cell growth in vitro by cis-unstaurated fatty acids – relationship to free radicals and lipid peroxidation. Prostaglandins Leukotrienes and Essential Fatty Acids 51 33–40.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mann, DR, Akinbami, MA, Gould, KG & Ansari, AA (2000) Seasonal variation in cytokine expression and cell-mediated immunity in male rhesus monkeys. Cellular Immunology 200 105–115.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mantzioris, E, James, MJ, Gibson, RA & Cleland, LG (1994) Dietary substitution with an alpha-linolenic acid rich vegetable oil increases eicosapentaenoic acid concentrations in tissues. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 59 1304–1309.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mantzioris, E, James, MJ, Gibson, RA & Cleland, LG (1995) Differences exist in the relationships between dietary linoleic and α-linolenic acids and their respective long-chain metabolites. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 61 320–324.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Meydani, M, Natiello, F, Goldin, B, Free, N, Woods, M, Schaefer, E, Blumberg, JB & Gorbach, SL (1991 a) Effect of long-term fish oil supplementation on vitamin E status and lipid peroxidation in women. Journal of Nutrition 121 484–491.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Meydani, SN, Endres, S, Woods, MM, Goldin, BR, Soo, C, Morril-Labrode, A, Dinarello, C & Gorbach, SL (1991 b) Oral (n−3) fatty acid supplementation suppresses cytokine and lymphocyte proliferation: comparison between young and older women. Journal of Nutrition 121 547–555.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meydani, SN, Lichtenstein, AH, Cornwall, S, Meydani, M, Goldin, BR, Rasmussen, H, Dinarello, CA & Schaffer, EJ (1993) Immunologic effects of national cholesterol education step-2 diets with and without fish-derived n−3 fatty acid enrichment. Journal of Clinical Investigation 92 105–113.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Molvig, J, Pociot, F, Worsaae, H, Wogensen, LD, Baek, L, Christensen, P, Mandruppoulsen, T, Andersen, K, Madsen, P, Dyerberg, J & Nerup, J (1991) Dietary supplementation with omega 3 polyunsaturated fatty acids decreases mononuclear cell proliferation and interleukin 1 beta content but not monokine secretion in healthy and insulin dependent diabetic individuals. Scandinavian Journal of Immunology 34 399–410.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nelson, RJ & Demas, GE (1996) Seasonal changes in immune function. Quarterly Review of Biology 71 511–548.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pape, HC, Schmidt, RE, Rice, J, van Griensven, M, das Gupta, R, Krettek, C & Tscherne, H (2000) Biochemical changes after trauma and skeletal surgery of the lower extremity: quantification of the operative burden. Critical Care Medicine 28 3441–3448.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sanders, TAB & Roshanai, F (1983) The influence of different types of ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on blood lipids and platelet function in healthy volunteers. Clinical Science 64 91–99.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sanders, TAB & Younger, K (1981) The effects of dietary supplements of ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on the fatty acid composition of platelets and plasma choline phosphoglycerides. British Journal of Nutrition 45 613–617.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schmidt, EB, Varming, K, Moller, JM, Bulow Pederson, I, Madsen, P & Dyerberg, J (1996) No effect of very low dose n−3 fatty acids on monocyte function in healthy humans. Scandinavian Journal of Clinical Investigation 56 87–92.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Spittler, A, Razenberger, M, Kupper, H, Kaul, M, Boltz-Nitulescu, G, Fugger, RF & Roth, E (2000) Relationship between interleukin-6 plasma concentration in patients with sepsis, monocyte phenotype, moncyte phagocytic properties, and cytokine production. Clinical Infectious Diseases 21 1338–1342.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thies, F, Miles, EA, Nebe-von-Caron, G, Powell, JR, Hurst, TL, Newsholme, EA & Calder, PC (2001 a) Influence of dietary supplementation with long-chain n−3 or n−6 polyunsaturated fatty acids on blood inflammatory cell populations and functions and on plasma soluble adhesion molecules in healthy humans. Lipids 36 1183–1193.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Thies, F, Nebe-von-Caron, G, Powell, JR, Yaqoob, P, Newsholme, EA & Calder, PC (2001 b) Dietary supplementation with gamma linolenic acid or fish oil decreases T lymphocyte proliferation in healthy older humans. Journal of Nutrition 131 1918–1927.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Thies, F, Nebe-von-Caron, G, Powell, JR, Yaqoob, P, Newsholme, EA & Calder, PC (2001 c) Dietary supplementation with eicosapentaenoic acid, but not with other long-chain n 3 or n 6 polyunsaturated fatty acids, decreases natural killer cell activity in healthy subjects aged >55 y. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 73 539–548.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Virella, G, Fourspring, K, Hyman, B, Haskill-Stroud, R, Long, L, Virella, I, La Via, M, Gross, AJ & Lopes-Virella, M (1991) Immunosuppressive effects of fish oil in normal human volunteers: Correlation of the in vitro effects of eicosapentaenoic acid on human lymphocytes. Clinical Immunology and Immunopathology 61 161–176.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Yaqoob, P, Pala, HS, Cortina-Borja, M, Newsholme, EA & Calder, PC (2000) Encapsulated fish oil enriched in α-tocopherol alters plasma phospholipid and mononuclear cell fatty acid compositions but not mononuclear cell functions. European Journal of Clinical Investigation 30 260–274.CrossRefGoogle Scholar