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Accepted manuscript

High dose fish oil supplements are more effective than oily fish in altering the number and function of extracellular vesicles in healthy human subjects: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel trial

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 March 2025

Amal Sharman
Affiliation:
Hugh Sinclair Unit of Human Nutrition, Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences, School of Chemistry, Food & Pharmacy, University of Reading, Reading, United Kingdom.
Ruihan Zhou
Affiliation:
Hugh Sinclair Unit of Human Nutrition, Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences, School of Chemistry, Food & Pharmacy, University of Reading, Reading, United Kingdom. Current address: Division of Pediatric Oncology and Pediatric Surgery, Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
Jamie Pugh
Affiliation:
Schools of Sport and Exercise Science, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom.
Graeme Close
Affiliation:
Schools of Sport and Exercise Science, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom.
Helena L. Fisk
Affiliation:
School of Human Development and Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom and NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre, University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust and University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom.
Philip C. Calder
Affiliation:
School of Human Development and Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom and NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre, University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust and University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom.
Parveen Yaqoob*
Affiliation:
Hugh Sinclair Unit of Human Nutrition, Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences, School of Chemistry, Food & Pharmacy, University of Reading, Reading, United Kingdom.
*
*Correspondence: Parveen Yaqoob and [email protected] University of Reading, Whiteknights House, Reading, RG6 6UR, UK
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Abstract

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N-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs) delivered by fish oil supplements alter the number and functions of circulating extracellular vesicles (EVs), but consumption of oily fish does not reproduce this effect. In order to assess the effects of fish oil supplements and oily fish, at a level achievable in the diet, on EV numbers, composition and procoagulant activity in healthy human volunteers, forty-two healthy subjects were assigned to one of three treatment groups: (i) fish oil supplements plus white fish meals, (ii) control supplements plus oily fish meals or (iii) control supplements plus white fish meals for 12 weeks in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel trial; circulating EVs were enumerated and their procoagulant activity assessed using thrombin generation and fibrinolysis assays. Our results showed that fish oil supplements decreased circulating EV numbers and reduced EV-stimulated thrombin generation, but the consumption of oily fish at half the dose of EPA had no effect on either EV number or thrombogenic capacity. Consumption of both oily fish and fish oil supplements increased the EPA and DHA contents of EVs and the proportion of EPA in circulating EVs was strongly associated with EV-stimulated thrombin generation. This study revealed that the additional 1 g/d EPA delivered in the fish oil supplements is required to decrease the numbers and thrombogenic capacity of EVs, since oily fish at a level achievable in the diet had no effect. Increasing EPA intake beyond current guidelines for oily fish consumption may therefore be required for cardiovascular benefits relating to EVs.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Nutrition Society